Fearless Baby, Empowered By Risk (Surprising Video!)

This video is somewhat shocking at first glance – just about every glance, actually. Even when my 9 year old daredevil son saw it, he exclaimed disapprovingly, “You let her get on the table again?!” The “table” is actually just a wooden platform a few inches high, a focus of interest and activity for babies in the RIE Parent/Infant Guidance Classes. The 8 month old baby in the video is an extraordinarily...

RIE Parenting – Good News (CBS Video)

Brimming with new conviction and enthusiasm after attending yesterday’s 22nd Annual RIE Infant/Toddler Conference, I’m looking forward to sharing highlights in the coming weeks. And while I’m digesting the brilliance of psychologist Alicia Lieberman and the insights and inspirational reports from the other talented presenters — educators, parents and child care professionals — I have more good RIE...

Date With My Boy

My 9-year old son recently led me on a spontaneous early morning adventure. I wish I could say I was gung ho, but the truth is he had to cajole me. It was almost time for me to take him to the school bus and his sister to her carpool, but she wasn’t feeling well and decided to stay home. My boy seized the opportunity to break our routine… “Can we go to Starbucks and then meet the bus at the second stop?”...

See Baby Learn – One Boy, Many Experiments (On Video)

Babies are natural self-learners. Well-rested, fed, emotionally nurtured, and in the absence of intense teething pain or other discomfort, even the youngest infants are curious explorers. All babies need is a safe, peaceful environment, some basic objects to examine (unnecessary until they are 3 or 4 months old) and many opportunities throughout the day to move freely and make their own choices without our...

Toddler Learning – Focus Or Freedom?

Hi Janet, Still avidly reading your blog and just read your listening article. I  have a question: I started taking my daughter (28 months) to a gym class at a local community center (can’t afford the fancy kid gym classes), and I’m interested in your thoughts regarding her behavior and how best to deal with it. My daughter in general is a fearless, fun little girl with tons of energy, so I figured the...

9 Reasons Not To Walk Babies

I can understand the urge to walk babies. After all, they seem to like it so much. When we help our babies walk, they are gleefully entertained — enjoying us enjoying them — while we’re getting a preview of one of life’s major milestones. Sometimes we’re compelled to walk our babies because we think they need help developing their motor skills and believe it our duty to teach them. We worry that...

Respect, Trust, Acceptance – Magda Gerber’s Therapeutic Approach To Child Care

I was a newbie mom just beginning my studies with infant expert Magda Gerber when I first read Gloria Ohland’s story about Magda in her “Local Heroes” column at LA Weekly, and it resonated deeply. It still does. “Our Babies, Ourselves” (June, 1991) captures the spirit of Magda’s work with parents and infants as few articles have since… OUR BABIES, OURSELVES by Gloria Ohland Magda Gerber’s...

RIE Parenting Bliss (A Brief Glimpse)

This two-minute video gem (uncovered by my clever husband Mike) illustrates the immediate benefits of independent play (a cornerstone of RIE parenting) far better than any of the thirty or so articles I’ve posted on the subject.  I’m humbled and thrilled to share this slice of parenting heaven. It’s reminiscent of scenes I often witnessed with my own children when they were small. Michael Caulder, the dad...