Waiting, Waiting, Waiting...

Magda Gerber

"By closely supervising our infants, by allowing them to do what they are capable of, by restraining ourselves from rescuing them too often, by waiting and waiting and waiting, by giving minimal help when they really need it, we allow our infants to learn and grow at their own time and in their own way. I believe that, no matter how much and how fast the world changes, a well-grounded, competent, and confident person is best equipped to adapt to it. This is our goal". 
~ Magda Gerber

Magda Gerber was a childhood educator & a passionate advocate for both infants and parents. Her goal was to make parenting easier and more enjoyable, while revolutionizing the way infants and toddlers are seen, interacted with and cared for. Her method was based on waiting and allowing children to learn and develop naturally at their own pace & treating infants with respect. 

Gerber was born in Hungary & received a degree in linguistics at the Sorbonne in France. Her inspiration came from pediatrician Emmi Pikler. Pikler's innovative theories on infant care were successfully tested during her tenure as medical director of a state-run orphanage in Budapest. Gerber incorporated many of Pikler's theories into her own philosophy, which she termed RIE (pronounced "wry") or Resources for Infant Educarers. 

Gerber emigrated with her family to the United States in 1957, and developed and directed the Pilot Infant Program at the Dubnoff School. In 1973 she began teaching parent/infant classes, and in 1980 she founded the RIE Center in Los Angeles.

The Resources for Infant Educarers (RIE) co-founded by the late Magda Gerber and Tom Forrest, M.D in 1978, is a non-profit membership organization aimed at raising the standards of infant care and education through parent and caregiver education.

The RIE philosophy is based on respecting infants as if they were fully functioning: spending quality time with them, learning their individual ways of communicating,  involving them in the things that concern them, being honest with them, not treating them like objects, and allowing them to try to solve a problem without adult interference.

The term educarer, which she also coined, refers to either a parent or other caregiver, and emphasizes the role that they play in both caring and educating.

I highly recommend her books. Whether you are a parent, yoga teacher, classroom educator or other child professional; whether you work with infants, children or teens, there is something for each of us to learn from Magda's approach.

Sources:
Magdagerber.org
Wikipedia
www.rie.org/about/our-founder

Contact: barbara@bodylogique.com  

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