Making sense of the RIE philosophy

I've been teaching in the Early childhood sector for almost 9 years now and in that time I've learnt a lot about educational philosophies. When I became a Mum myself I was pretty set on using a lot of the principles of the RIE philosophy because I know that the work of Magda Gerber has been studied and proven over the last 70 years. I personally love many of its principles because it was how I was raised (Even though my Mum didn't know about it). It is essentially placing love at the centre and viewing the baby and child as competent and capable. Sadly (like anything) there's a lot of hate out there about how the RIE philosophy is too strict or too old fashioned but I argue that those people have no idea what there talking about and here's why...

I have seen the RIE philosophy work in practice in 5 different settings now (3 of which I've personally worked in). II dont think it's a strict rule book becuase it's about creating a culture of kindness for you and your baby. It's about respectful and loving interactions between babies and teachers (or their parents). I'm happy to say that a lot of parents I've worked alongside already do most of these things naturally with their baby but some do not.

What is RIE?

It's an educaring approach to infant education and parenting developed by a lady called Magda Gerber.  She was inspired by the work of Emmi Pikler (a brain researcher and pediatrician) in Hungary and developed the RIE (Resources for infant carers) movement in America in the 1940s. Through her books, Dear Parent and Your Self-Confident Baby and through her articles, lectures and trainings, she has inspired generations of parents and professionals to see infants as active participants in their own development from the very first moment of life.

What I think RIE is:

• Letting your baby take the led- what do they need? what are they telling you through thier cues or cries? We try to follow them as much as we can.
• It's about free movement!  Not placing your baby into any postion (or contraption) they can't get out of themselves or that they might feel uncomfortble in. Read thier cues. If they aren't enjoying it then you need to stop.
• Using real language not 'baby talk' . By using real language to talk to your baby and talk about lots of things you are doing all the time they develop their language skills. They also learn to be an active participant in their own care and the world around them because they are not just going along for the ride they are apart of it.
• Slowing down and thinking about how your baby is seeing and experiencing the world - What does that taste like? Sound like? feel like? sensory experiences help create a language of understanding and care for your baby.
• Making the mundane the magical e.g the nappy change or the feeding times are all learning moments that show the baby you love and care for them. In centre's I've worked in the past we call those special moments 'care moments' where the child or baby is respected and emotionally topped up by their special care moment with you.y
• Allowing them time and space to develop. My beautiful friend explained this to me by using a flower. If you think about the fresh bud of a rose it cannot bloom any faster by someone pushing it to do so. If you pull on its petals and try and force it to bloom it will fall apart but if you let it unfurl naturally it will bloom into a beautiful rose. Children are like this too.
• Letting your baby play uninterrupted for as long as they can. When a baby gets to make choices about their own play and what the find of interest to them then they are building a brain of competence and capability. Alternatively if you are always making the choices for them they could perhaps learn that "Mummy chooses all the time" and learn to become very dependant. This is a bit controversial I know but I truly believe that this happens with babies and children having experienced this as a teacher and now a parent.
• Using real things.  Real bowls, real spoons, real plates, real toys (not all plastic). Children need real authentic experiences with the world so they can make sense of it with support from a trusted adult.

What RIE isn't:

• A bunch of rules or things you must do or must not do. I don't think that Magda Gerber was as strict as some people make the philosophy seem. There are a few groups online that are VERY strict about what she said and didn't say so maybe if you follow one of those pages just take that info with a grain of salt.
•  Letting your baby cry for long periods -although if your baby is crying and you cant figure out the reason then Magda Gerber suggests that maybe they just need to release an emotion. You can sit with them or offer them a cuddle. Sometimes we don't always know why our baby is crying but we can support them through it.
•  A perfect rule book. I don't believe any one philosophy is perfect and you need to take into account your own values and family and decide if the approach will work for you.
• I recently completed a 10 week parent infant RIE course held by my friend and it re confirmed a lot of these ideas for me but I still have so much to learn!

Parenthood is a constant learning curve, it just never stops.