These Toddlers Are NOT Sharing

Do a pair of one-year-olds squabbling over plastic hair rollers sound like fun to you? My guess is an unqualified ‘no’, but infants and toddlers define fun, play and learning quite differently than their elders. They approach social situations, even those that turn into minor conflicts, with curiosity and openness. Observing infant and toddler interactions over the years, I’ve learned that babies have volumes...

Baby Buddy Movie – Developing Social Intelligence

As the little guys in this brief video demonstrate, there is nothing more intriguing to babies than other babies. Infants learn a great deal from each other, especially when allowed to engage spontaneously — to play and socialize their way.  Yet free play between infants is routinely discouraged and interrupted because it doesn’t look “nice” or “polite” to an adult’s eye. If we could enter our...

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...

Colander Girl – Simple Objects Are Baby Treasures (Video!)

Could there be a more educational infant toy than this one? Watch a 9 month old baby (on two different occasions) exploring the wonders and intricacies of a simple kitchen tool we wouldn’t give a second thought to while rinsing pasta or washing grapes.  This is an example of the kind of independent play and experimentation that builds strong minds, long attention spans and encourages a love of learning. Note the...

Toddler Testing Toy Story

Hi Janet, We got a very un-RIE gift — Penguin Race – and here’s what happened. Mia really loved it, and then she tried to break it. These mechanical penguins climb stairs and then slide/luge down a big slide, then climb the stairs again. It’s cute, noisy, fun to watch, but that is all there is to do… watch. She kept asking to “play” with it, and then every time the play...

Creative Toys Engage Babies

A recent question in the community forum about infant toys and play gave me an idea. Shana, the mother of a 9 month old, expressed concern that her boy’s occupation with books and “cruising” might not be “enough”, and asked if I could give “examples of what happens in your classes with this age group.” So, I made this video tour of our play space at RIE (Resources for Infant...

A Jolly Toddler Holiday – 3 Ways To Enrich The Experience

Hi Janet, My son is 28 months, and this is the first year I think he’ll have a lot of questions about Christmas.  My parents are already asking what Santa should bring him, and it’s prompted me to think about how I might position this mythical character in a developmentally appropriate way that embraces the spirit of Santa, doesn’t feel like I’m lying to him or that I will have to burst his...

Better Toys For Busy Babies

Hello Janet, I’m so pleased to discover your blog. I’m slowly reading through it bit by bit. I came across it when I was searching for more information about Magda’s teachings. I have her book “Your Self-Confident Baby” and I find that your website adds a wealth of information to the book. I have many parenting books and I tried the attachment thing, but ended up so tired every day that I was starting to...