The Nurturant

Curiosity is not fragile. It is powerful, persistent, and present from birth. What often changes is not the child, but the pace, pressure, and expectations placed around them.

In the early years, children explore through movement, repetition, observation, and play. They ask questions with their bodies long before they use words. When we hurry them towards outcomes, correct their process, or interrupt their exploration, curiosity does not disappear, it simply goes quiet.

RIE reminds us that learning is not something we deliver. It is something children do when they feel safe, unhurried, and trusted. Our role is to protect the conditions that allow curiosity to stay alive.

Key Insights:
→ Curiosity is innate and present from birth.
→ Rushing, over-instructing, and constant adult direction suppress exploration.
→ Play, movement, and repetition are how young children investigate the world.
→ Responsive, respectful caregiving preserves a child’s natural drive to learn.
→ When curiosity is protected, learning remains joyful and self-driven.

Stay tuned for the conversation, offering meaningful insight into how early relationships and environments support children in growing into their most authentic selves and shaping their future.
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Source: Pallavi (Conversation); Magda Ge**er, Resources for Infant Educarers (RIE®️); Deborah (Debbie) Bergstrom, RIE®️ Practice; Harvard Center on the Developing Child; UNICEF – Responsive Caregiving; WHO – Nurturing Care Framework (2018)

[Childcare, Parenting, Early childhood caregivers, Children’s brain development, Motherhood experiences, Human development, Play based learning, Toddler Education, Preschool, True Play, Child-led learning, Self Guided Learning, Emotional Regulation]

“If research, if our own work with children tells us time and again that care is the curriculum, then why is it so difficult for this to happen in our classrooms? When they feel safe and connected in our relationship as educators or parents with them, the learning comes so easily. But the moment they do not feel that connect, the child is just in survival mode. And that’s when learning really becomes difficult.”
— Deborah (Debbie) Bergstrom
RIE®️ Associate, Infant–Toddler Specialist | Early childhood educator with 39+ years of practice across the globe

Care is not something that happens alongside learning. It is the medium through which learning happens. Every moment of feeding, comforting, waiting, and responding shapes how children build trust, regulate emotions, develop confidence, and engage with the world. When care is intentional and respectful, it becomes the child’s first and most powerful curriculum.

Key Insights:
→ Daily caregiving moments are primary learning experiences in early childhood.
→ Predictable, responsive care builds emotional security and self-regulation.
→ Warm, attuned interactions strengthen attachment and trust.
→ Respect for a child’s pace supports autonomy and confidence.
→ The quality of care directly shapes the quality of learning.

Stay tuned for the conversation, offering meaningful insight into how early relationships and environments support children in growing into their most authentic selves and shaping their future:
https://www.youtube.com/

Source: Deborah (Debbie) Bergstrom, RIE®️; Magda Ge**er – Resources for Infant Educarers (RIE®️); Harvard Center on the Developing Child; UNICEF – Responsive Caregiving; WHO – Nurturing Care Framework (2018)

[Childcare, Parenting, Early childhood caregivers, Children’s brain development, Motherhood experiences, Human development, Play based learning, Toddler Education, Preschool, True Play, Child-led learning, Self Guided Learning, Emotional Regulation]

“They have such an amazing ability to want to learn. They have a sense of wonder. I wonder how this works. It is everywhere.”
— Deborah (Debbie) Bergstrom
RIE®️ Associate, Infant–Toddler Specialist | Early childhood educator with 39+ years of practice across the globe

Children are born with an innate drive to explore, experiment, and make sense of their world. Curiosity is not something we create, but something we protect through responsive environments and respectful relationships. When curiosity is protected, learning becomes natural and lifelong.

Key Insights:
→ Curiosity is the natural engine that drives early learning.
→ Sensory exploration and movement strengthen both gross motor and fine motor skills alongside cognitive development.
→ Social interaction and relationships shape emotional and communication skills.
→ Responsive caregiving protects and strengthens a child’s desire to learn.
→ Early experiences shape how children approach learning for life.

Follow and subscribe to continue exploring thoughtful, research-led conversations on early childhood, learning, and development.
https://www.youtube.com/

Source: Deborah (Debbie) Bergstrom, RIE®️; Harvard Center on the Developing Child; UNICEF; WHO – Nurturing Care Framework (2018)

[Childcare, Parenting, Early childhood caregivers, Children’s brain development, Motherhood experiences, Human development, Play based learning, Toddler Education, Preschool, True Play, Child-led learning, Self Guided Learning, Emotional Regulation]

Tantrums are not disruptions. They are expressions of development.

When a child is overwhelmed, what we often see as a “tantrum” is actually part of a deeper developmental process. Young children do not yet have the capacity to regulate big emotions on their own. They rely on calm, responsive adults to co-regulate with them until self-regulation gradually develops.

What unfolds in these moments is not behaviour to be corrected, but a process to be supported. Every experience of being held emotionally through distress strengthens a child’s ability to manage feelings in the future.

Key Insights:
→ Emotional overload is a normal part of early childhood development.
→ Children require adults to act as external regulators before self-regulation matures.
→ Tantrums are expressions of emotional processing, not misbehaviour.
→ Repeated experiences of responsive care build long-term emotional regulation.

Stay tuned for the conversation, offering meaningful insight into how early relationships and environments support children in growing into their most authentic selves and shaping their future:
https://www.youtube.com/

Source: Deborah (Debbie) Bergstrom, RIE®️ Associate; Magda Ge**er, Resources for Infant Educarers (RIE®️); Harvard Center on the Developing Child; UNICEF – Responsive Caregiving in Early Childhood

[Childcare, Parenting, Early childhood caregivers, Children’s brain development, Motherhood experiences, Human development, Play based learning, Toddler Education, Preschool, True Play, Child-led learning, Self Guided Learning, Emotional Regulation]

“I think the best early childhood class is where you walk in as a stranger and no child looks up. It is a clear indication that children are really getting what they want and what they need.”
— Professor Venita Kaul
Professor Emerita (Education), Ambedkar University Delhi
Former Director, School of Education Studies, AUD
Founder-Director, Centre for Early Childhood Education and Development (CECED)
Former Senior Education Specialist, The World Bank

Deep engagement is not accidental. It emerges when children feel safe, trusted, and free to lead their own learning. When no child looks up for approval, it reflects intrinsic motivation, emotional security, and sustained attention. These are the conditions in which meaningful learning unfolds in the early years.

Key Insights:
→ Deep engagement is a sign of emotional safety and predictable environments.
→ Intrinsic motivation grows when children are not driven by adult approval.
→ Play-based, child-led classrooms support sustained attention and self-directed learning.
→ Quiet focus is often the strongest indicator of high-quality early learning environments.

Stay tuned for the conversation, offering meaningful insight into how early relationships and environments support children in growing into their most authentic selves and shaping their future:
https://www.youtube.com/

Source: Professor Venita Kaul; UNICEF & LEGO Foundation (Learning Through Play, 2018); UNESCO ECCE Framework; National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, Government of India

[Childcare, Parenting, Early childhood caregivers, Children’s brain development, Motherhood experiences, Human development, Play based learning, Toddler Education, Preschool, True Play, Child-led learning, Self Guided Learning, Emotional Regulation]

We spent a powerful week exploring early childhood with depth and intention.

So many meaningful conversations around slowing down, sensitive observation and supporting children as active participants in their own learning.
Deborah (Debbie) Bergstrom, RIE®️ Associate and infant–toddler specialist with over 39 years of international experience, engaged with our educators and parent community at Tinker Lab, reflecting on agency, attunement and the role of the environment in care and education.

🎙️ Hosted by Pallavi Poojari Mohindra, our Founder and CEO of The Nurturant, we concluded the week by recording our conversation “How We Raise Humans” with Professor Venita Kaul and Debbie Bergstrom, exploring the simplest yet most profound question of childhood. Releasing soon on our YouTube channel.

Swipe to see the highlights ➡️

[parenting, childcare, early childhood caregivers, children’s brain development, motherhood experiences, human development, play-based learning, toddler education, preschool, true play, child-led learning, self-guided learning, emotional regulation, inclusion, empathy, sensory play, imaginative play, let them play, play matters, responsive parenting, RIE, respectful care]