Outings

Car Seat Tantrums – Handled With Respect

True story: Holly was a tentative mom, someone who avoided setting limits. She told me she was having an impossible time getting three-year-old Eliza to sit in her car seat. She screamed, threw a fit and flat out refused to cooperate. I recommended to Holly that she say, “I know you don’t want to, but you must sit in your car seat” and then physically place Eliza into the seat. Holly reported back to me that...

Would You Let Your Baby Do This?

There’s a certain ubiquitous playground apparatus that has always given me the willies. Luckily, my children never seemed drawn to it. My nervousness may well have made them wary. Even if we’ve trained ourselves to remain calm, just observe and spot, our children know. Their radar is that good.   So when a mom from one of my RIE Parent/Infant Guidance Classes (in which we strongly advise and encourage natural...

A Toddler’s Grief – A Gift Of Grace

“You’re okay,” is repeatedly told to a child who hurts himself and does not feel okay. I would much rather give the child permission to feel the way she feels and then wait it out. Again the magic “waiting” works, because emotions have their beginning and their end — even tantrums have a beginning and an end.”  Magda Gerber, Dear Parent: Caring for Infants With Respect Eva, the 15 month old toddler...

Don’t Cramp Your Toddler’s Style – The Power Of Trust

“There are certain things children are obliged to do, but in play where there is no obligation, they come to something new and fresh. Play is a trying out experimenting. It’s not a joke, children don’t play for fun. They play for real, and adults don’t understand that; they laugh at what children do. To children, play is very serious.” –Educator Margaret Flinsch Imagine you and the...

Baby-Led Adventures – 5 Reasons Babies Need To Lead

Babies are born adventurers. If we give them our full attention and a completely safe, reasonably interesting place in which they are free to move, they’re on their way. Even the youngest infant can lead us on play adventures if we watch closely and use our imagination, because long before a baby has motor abilities, the wheels are turning. He’s seeing, hearing, feeling and thinking. He’s never “just lying...

Dealing With Parenting Differences Among Friends, Family And Kind Strangers

Those of us lucky enough to have discovered child care methods that resonate with us (like Attachment Parenting or Magda Gerber’s RIE Approach) often find ourselves in awkward situations with well-intentioned grandparents, friends or kind strangers who engage with our children differently than we’d like. Of course, it’s not their fault – they aren’t on ‘the program’ –and it always comes down to,...

Please Don’t Take The Babies (Respecting Infant/Toddler Readiness)

Dear Janet I’m not a parent so my question has a different angle, but I was still hoping for your opinion and advice. I work in a childcare centre where I am the primary caregiver of 5 infants and toddlers varying between the ages of 3 months and 2 years. Our centre plans a trip once a year where all the children on our roll go on an excursion that fits with the current interests of the children (somewhat!). This...

Life With Baby: A New Parent’s Struggles And Success (From My Mailbox)

One of the happy benefits of blogging about RIE parenting is the positive connections I’m making with some outstanding dads and moms (or, as in this case, a warm, exuberant ‘mum’).  As New Zealander Helena is discovering, learning to parent is nothing like acing a multiple-choice quiz. Developing our relationship with a unique other person — a much smaller, more fragile, non-verbal one — is an...