| Our approach to Infant Care at Child's
Day draws heavily from the principals developed by
educator and
infant specialist Magda Gerber and Tom Forrest, M.D., specialist in
developmental and behavioral pediatrics. They developed a unique
philosophy and methodology for working with infants when they
originated and conducted the Demonstration Infant Program in Palo Alto,
California (1972-1977) and in 1978, they founded Resources for Infant Educarers (RIE) to continue presenting this approach to parents and
professionals. Magda Gerber coined the word
Educarer to
describe embedding education in the process of caring for infants.
In order to
foster quality care RIE encourages:
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Basic trust
in the child to be an initiator, an explorer and a self
learner.
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An environment for the child
that is physically safe, cognitively challenging and emotionally
nurturing
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Time for uninterrupted play.
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Freedom to explore
and interact with other infants.
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Involvement of the child in all care
activities to allow the child to become an active participant
rather than a passive recipient.
-
Sensitive observation
of the child in order to understand his/her
needs.
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Consistency,
clearly defined limits and expectations to develop
discipline.
Respect is
the Guideline of RIE's Philosophy
The Educarer shows
respect, for example, by not picking up an infant without telling him
beforehand, by talking directly to her and not over her, and by waiting
for the child's response. Such respectful attitudes help to develop an
authentic child.
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