Your Self-Confident Baby: How to Encourage Your Child's Natural Abilities from the Very Start

Excellent resource for parents, nannies, and preschool teachers
I only wish I'd found this book when my son was a newborn. I liked it so much that I bought several copies to share with other new moms.

I love the basic principles of treating babies with respect from the very beginning of their lives. It makes such a difference and is important to remember during routine things like diaper changes that these little babies are people with feelings. The whole approach shifted the way I interact with my toddler son and improved our relationship.

Parents today use lots of equipment that delays development (exersaucers, walkers, etc.). Magda Gerber emphasizes giving the baby a safe environment to explore and play, without all of the high-tech toys and equipment. This floor time encourages important development and play - and as a Feldenkrais Practitioner myself, this book just makes sense.

Seeing children develop self confidence and resilience is very gratifying. This book will help nurture those qualities and your kid's natural abilities.

Great learning for Parents!
Magda Gerber is one of the most insightful educator. Her RIE approach in parenting is trully what we need in our society nowaday. Education should start at the beginning of life, every child is born with beauty and how we can accompany them to be an authentic, peaceful and self-confident being, is truly essential in their own person growth. Magda has created a very respectful way of caring for the infant and toddlers. This respectful perspective is one of the basic trust in relating to all those around the baby and the world.

Magda also talks about Choice. Even though young infant, they can have their choice of being taken care of and the way they like. Gentleness and calmness are always the essentials in educaring babies. It is really a great book for mothers and professional in taking care of babies.

A must read for conscientious parents
What a remarkable book! If you don't have time to read, you should still read this book, whether you're a first time parent or a veteran. We need this book to be an epidemic, so that RIE based child-care facilities open up all over the nation. There's only one educarer in the NJ/NY region! The only principle that I disagree with is holding your child - I have a 2 month old baby and I carry her all the time, practicing "baby-wearing". When I don't hold her, however, I enjoy the advice of the book - in essence, watch and wait. Seeing baby lie flat on her back (which is all a 2 month old can do) and look around, finding her hands, a stream of sunlight, shadows on the wall - this book has made observation a pleasure. Please read it! It states out loud the things your subconscious knows; tell the baby what you're about to do, don't tickle, don't spank, don't interrupt, stop rushing her training.... Please, please buy this book!

R-e-s-p-e-c-t... find out what is means to baby
A great book for all parents! This book gives an in depth explanation of the RIE philosophies. It is well written and organized. I think it is better written than Magda Gerber's first book Dear Parent: Caring for Infants With Respect (2nd Edition). RIE offers parents a nice structure that helps promote a loving connected relationship between parent and child. Like any parenting philosophy, it is important that parents pick and choose what feels right for your particular family. I recommend this book to any parent that wants to raise a confident baby.
Dr. Jenn Berman
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Author of The A to Z Guide to Raising Happy, Confident Kids

Excellent Read!
Recommended to me by my college Professor a Dr. of Child Development. It was a great way to pull all of the methods we learned in class about positive and developmentally facilitating group care for Infants and Toddlers into my home so I could care for my own child while still encouraging his learning and creating a well adjusted child. Although this book does not talk about the research done on her methods, my class certainly did, and the finding were quite telling. I recommend watching video footage of the infants who have been raised and taught with these methods, IT IS AMAZING to see what a child so small is capable of doing on their own. I am excited to see my own children excel with her methods.....