About RIE

RIE (pronounced “wry”) stands for Resources for Infant Educarers, a non-profit organization founded by Magda Gerber and pediatric neurologist Tom Forrest, M.D. in 1978.

RIE can be shortly described as "Parenting with Awareness" or "Art of Aware Parenting". It is a simple and revolutionary at the same time way of SEEING, APPROACHING and BEING with children of all ages, and particularly infants and young toddlers.

RIE promotes a way of seeing infants and toddlers that enables adults to form close, authentic relationships with them through OBSERVATION, ATTENTIVE CARE, RESPECTFUL LANGUAGE and BASIC TRUST in their natural abilities. RIE parents are unhurried, confident in their abilities to provide their baby with optimal stimulation, sensitive to their babies’ needs and wants, and able to create guilt-free time for themselves. RIE children are self-confident, inner-directed and independent. They are active, self-directed learners.

About Magda Gerber’s Educaring® Approach

The infant needs an intimate, stable relationship with at least one primary person. This relationship can best be developed during “care time” — diapering, dressing, feeding and bathing. These activities offer excellent opportunities for teaching cooperation, language, body image and mutuality in task- oriented experiences. The infant is an active participant rather than a passive recipient during care time. The infant needs a safe and carefully designed environment in which to move, explore and manipulate. He/She thus achieves the stages of gross motor and sensory-motor development in his own time. Spontaneous, self-induced activities, which the infant pursues freely and autonomously, have an essential value for his/her physical and mental development. The pleasure in the process of exploration and mastery is self-reinforcing. The infant becomes intrinsically motivated to learn. Meanwhile, the Educarer must learn to observe, understand and respect the individuality of the infant and respond with sensitivity and empathy to the infant’s cues.

-RIE Board of Directors, 2010

RIE inspired Parent-Infant Guidance Sessions

RIE inspired Parent-Infant Guidance Sessions are designed to encourage babies to engage, to explore, to be active and attentive. Each gathering is centered on group play session during which parents and the facilitator observe, discuss and gather key insights. Infants learn how to be aware of self and others and become authentic and responsible from an early age. The RIE-inspired sessions help parents to learn to trust and to be confident in their supportive role. They also learn how to quietly observe their infants exploring and how to refrain from reacting unnecessarily. The sessions are facilitated by a RIE® Foundations Course graduate and a RIE mom. The groups are small and sessions have intimate character where all questions and discussion are welcome at the end of the session. Each session is also an opportunity for parents to learn about their children’s development and ways of making their lives with their babies more enjoyable for all involved. The gatherings take place in an infant-friendly, calm and relaxing environment for all participants to take pleasure in their infants’ unfolding development and play. Groups are formed according to infant’s stages of gross motor development. Groups remain together over several class series. And as per Magda Gerber's recommendation ideally until they reach the age of two.

Typical session flow:

• Gathering and settling down

• Discussion

• Quiet observation time (20min)

• Sharing observation insights

• Discussion

• Closing

Topics for discussion often include:

• Age-appropriate expectations

• Reading your baby’s cues and signals and how best to respond

• The importance of play in children’s learning

• Fostering pro-social, physical and intellectual development and discipline based on your baby’s readiness

• Balancing parents’ and children’s needs and wants

• Establishing clear, consistent, and appropriate limits

• Adapting the home environment as baby grows

• Integrating RIE principles into everyday life in and out of the home

RIE inspired Parent-Toddler Guidance Sessions

RIE inspired Parent-Toddler Guidance Sessions are designed to encourage children to engage, to explore, to be active and attentive, to look for solutions, solve problems and to learn to interact with other children in a safe and non-judgmental environment. Each gathering is centered on group play session during which parents and the facilitator observe, discuss and gather key insights. Toddlers learn how to be aware of self and others and become authentic and responsible. The RIE-inspired sessions help parents to learn to trust and to be confident in their supportive role. They also learn how to quietly observe their children exploring and learning new skills and how to refrain from reacting unnecessarily. The sessions are facilitated by a RIE® Foundations Course graduate and a RIE mom. The groups are small and sessions have intimate character where all questions and discussion are welcome at the end of the session. Each session is also an opportunity for parents to learn about their children’s development and ways of making their lives with their growing individuals more enjoyable for all involved. The gatherings take place in a child-friendly, calm and relaxing environment for all participants to take pleasure in their toddlers’ unfolding development and play. Groups are formed according to toddler’s stages of gross motor development. Groups remain together in continuous class series.

Typical session flow:

• Gathering and settling down

• Discussion

• Quiet observation time including snack time (30min)

• Sharing observation insights

• Discussion

• Closing

Topics for discussion often include:

• Age-appropriate expectations

• Reading your baby’s cues and signals and how best to respond

• The importance of play in children’s learning

• Balancing parents’ and children’s needs and wants

• Fostering pro-social, physical and intellectual development and discipline based on your baby’s readiness

• Establishing clear, consistent, and appropriate limits

• Adapting the home environment as baby grows

• Integrating RIE principles into everyday life in and out of the home

About me

I am RIE® Foundations Course graduate and a RIE mom. I took my RIE® Foundations Course in 2013 with Bev Kovach where we covered an overview of Magda Gerber's Educaring® Approach to infant and toddler development and care, gross and fine motor development, social and emotional development, play, designing appropriate environments, issues in parenting and more. 

I've been running RIE inspired playgroups ever since and got to observe the miracles of RIE in action. We integrate a lot of RIE principles in our daily lives with my family but also incorporate and align with other philosophies (or parts of those). In other words, we do what we feel is right for our family and I encourage every one to do the same.

Next RIE inspired Parent-Infant Guidance Sessions

Infants on their backs (2 to 7 months old)

• no upcoming classes for now

• Location: -

• For babies on their backs, rolling (approximately 2 – 7 months old)

Mobile Babies (8 to 14 months old)

• no upcoming classes for now

• Location: -

• For babies sitting independently, crawling, or/and cruising (approximately 8 – 14 months old); This group is not for walking babies.

Next RIE inspired Parent-Toddler Guidance Sessions

Young toddlers (up to 2 years old)

• no upcoming classes for now

• Location: -

• Toddlers walking independently (approximately 15 – 23 months old); if you child walks earlier than 15 months, this is the class to join

Older toddlers (2 to 3 years old)

• no upcoming classes for now

• Location: -

• Toddlers in "mine" stage (approx. 24-36 months)