Sacramento Parent, Infant Classes- RIE Certified

as they interact productively with their environment, significant adults, and other children in the class RIE® classes encourage babies and toddlers to be attentive, engaged, exploring, and aware of self and others. Designed to encourage children to become authentic and responsible from an early age, these classes help parents to be confident in their supportive and attentive role towards these great discoveries. Facilitated by a certified RIE® Associate, small groups of parents and children come together in a carefully planned, purposeful, age-appropriate, cognitively challenging and emotionally nurturing environment that is designed to engage children in active exploration and self-directed learning and problem solving. Throughout, groups of children and parents come to know and respect one another. Children experience and develop a strong sense of attachment, security, trust, independence and interdependence with each other, the course facilitator, and, most importantly, their parents – the most significant people in their lives. Resources for Infant Educarers®, or RIE® is a non-profit organization founded in 1978 by Infant, Toddler Specialist Magda Ge**er and Dr. Tom Forest, pediatrician and Stanford University clinical professor. The RIE® organization and the Associate members teach “an integrated model for the care and education of infants and the very young using Magda Ge**er’s respectful approach”, the Educaring® Approach. Our vision is, “through this approach, which honors infants and young people as equal members in relationships, we are dedicated to creating a culture of people who are authentic, resourceful, and respectful. Our work is inspired by the natural integrity of young children and this formative power of relationships in their lives. When allowing to unfold in their own way and in their own time, children discover, manifest and inspire the best in themselves and in others. We are profoundly committed to sharing the opportunity to see infants with new eyes.”
Based largely on the work of Magda Ge**er and Dr. Emmi Pikler, pediatrician and child psychologist from Budapest, Hungary, the theoretical underpinnings of the Educaring® Approach are supported by the major human development theorists, both past and present. At the conclusion of each class, after the children have engaged in uninterrupted, active play, parents have an opportunity to ask questions, address important issues related to their particular circumstances, and explore new ways of thinking with the other parents in the class and the class facilitator. Topics that often come up for discussion include
- Age-appropriate expectations;
- The importance of play and children’s needs and wants;
- Establishing clear, consistent, and appropriate limits;
- Adapting the home environment as the baby grow;
- Sleep, nutrition, and toilet training issues;
- Stemming the flow of technology in the lives of children;
- Age appropriate conflict resolution strategies;
- School readiness issues including pre-reading skills;
- Discussions around appropriate childcare solutions;
- Balancing work and caregiving demands;
- The development of milestones and how to handle perceived delays;
- The growth and challenges of the consumer market directed specifically at young children; and
- Balancing sometimes conflicting needs of parents and children. These discussions offer parents a safe, trusting, and supportive format from which to share their experiences, concerns, challenges, ideas, and knowledge. With the belief that every parent knows their child better than anyone else, loves their child more than anyone else, and wants what is best for their child more than anyone else, we honor the depth of knowledge that each parent brings to the class and also offer new ways at looking at age-old topics within the framework of respect, trust, and support. Weekly RIE® Parent, Infant Guidance™ classes offer infants, toddlers, and parents a secure place from which they can grow in their understanding of one another, work through challenges together, and enjoy the unfolding of each child’s innate competence and healthy development.