Catcher in the RIE

Anyone who's studied infant development or modern parenting approaches has heard of Magda Gerber and her RIE institute- Resources for Infant Educarers. Magda was a pioneer in the field of infant development and the idea of "caring with respect." The RIE method is intuitive and simple, once you make this realization: babies are not living dolls! They are in fact little people undergoing incomparable brain development and acquisition of new skills. So, Magda put out the idea that infants should be treated with respect. Telling them "I'm going to pick you up now" or "It's time to change your diaper" instead of just whisking them off from behind with no notice helps them acquire language as well as develops the infant/caregiver relationship. Another major point is that daily caregiving routines, such as feeding or diaper-changing, are really the "curriculum" (along with free play) that make up an infant's day. The idea that these caregiving routines are not tasks to be rushed through, but are actually opportunities to learn and to build emotional attachment, is a real breakthrough. And, lest you forget, emotional attachments are the foundation for ALL other development in a child's life! She also stresses observation and intervening only when necessary. This "educaring" approach is, I think, truly the difference between a stimulating infant environment and someone who's merely babysitting.

I'm a big believer in most of the RIE teachings, but I am in no way militant about it. Yeah, we put the baby in the sling or in the stroller before he could sit up (Magda thought babies should not be placed in any positions they can't achieve themselves). I've used many of the approaches with my own child and I plan on implementing it with the children in my family care. But, when I started my Infant and Toddler Development class at LACC, I was pretty surprised that right now the current academic teaching in infant development is basically synonymous with the RIE method, no challengers. It's not like in preschool educational theory where at least you have several schools of thought to choose from, like Montessori or Reggio Emilia. It could just be as simple as demographics- Magda lived and worked in Los Angeles, and her RIE Institute is based here, so it's not surprising that her teachings figure so prominently in what I'm learning. My question is, what comes next? This is in no way a criticism of RIE methods. I really am curious to see what the next step will be, what the post-RIE research and field studies will come up with. I've always had an academic approach to infant development as well as a practical one. Magda was an advocate for infants and taught so many people how to listen and relate to these baby humans. She brought a lot of validity to the field of infant care and infant development, and for that we should all be greatful.

I highly recommend Magda's book Dear Parent to anyone who has or works with infants. The RIE Institute is based in Los Angeles and offers (somewhat expensive) classes for both parents-to-be and infant caretakers. I'm saving my pennies to attend the annual RIE Conference at the Skirball Center in June.