It often becomes tiring for parents to continue engaging in activities related to infants like changing diapers, tracking feeding schedules, and looking after them all the time. It at times becomes hard for parents to watch their children not cooperative with their Banned or not attaining the miles times as expected. Such a situation requires a different approach now.
RIE parenting is a technique gaining attention these days. It is not a new concept but a time–tested technique to help children develop emotionally healthy and mature. For parents willing to see their child’s growth, learning RIE parenting fits perfectly.
What is RIE Parenting?
RIE refers to ‘Resources for Infant Educarers’. Moreover, RIE is pronounced as “rye” parenting where parents can easily deal with their child by fulfilling their emotional and cognitive needs. RIE concept was given by Magda Gerber, a former Orphanage Medical Director. Sher observed that children learn best when they are in a safe, relaxed as well as the emotionally connected surrounding.
The word “Educarers” is stated with an idea that parents and the caregivers should respect the youngest infants. According to researches, infants should be considered capable enough to understand the world around them, thus lending them to explore and learn freely.
What is the RIE approach?
The basic aim of RIE parenting is to nurture an infant as an “authentic” child. Therefore, the baby should move around daily feeling secured, competent, autonomous, and connected to their surroundings. With the help of RIE, parents can focus on the needs of the baby by establishing a connection between themselves and the baby under their care.
How does it work?
This is how it works:
Allow the child to Explore and Discover
Under RIE parenting, parents are taught not to push their children to learn new things. RIE refers to slowing down and letting the kids take their own time to explore their surroundings. Moreover, kids are naturally curious and RIE works because of this curiosity. Small activities like while changing diapers, parents can allow the child by letting him or her lift legs and slowly learn changing diapers. Parents should guide rather than giving orders.
Good communication skills
While changing diapers or feeding or even playing any new game, parents must be good at narrating. They should inform the baby what’s going to happen next and after this. Through creative narration, by adding emotions and feelings during the learning process, it becomes easy for a child to pick up the hints and learn naturally.
Allow the child to Express Emotions
Sometimes, seeing child cry panics parents. They do every possible thing like rock, bounce the baby to cheer him up, and make him stop crying. Most parents think it is a normal response but kids take it another way. By stopping them cry, parents are making them think that expressing emotions is bad. Under RIE parenting, kids are allowed to experience pain, grief, happiness, and many other emotions. If a child wants to cry, let him cry rather than preventing it. By this parents are allowing the child to feel okay to express their emotions instead of keeping it inside.
Being a role model to them
Through RIE parenting, parents should teach their children with examples. Parents using the RIE method, usually take care of themselves, exercise, and follow a schedule. Children emulate them. Rather than punishing them, parents set boundaries. This gives them the lesson of discipline, learning by their experiences.
How to implement it?
Allow them to play solo at times
Giving freedom to explore and be creative is one of the important tasks under RIE parenting. Let them do want they wish to do. Children learn easily when given their own time.
Observing the child
Every parent needs to look after the kid, they should observe and learn about the child if they want to teach kids efficiently and give them life lessons naturally. This implies talking less and paying more attention to the kid’s activities while they are self-learning.
Maintain consistency
RIE parenting requires consistency. Setting rules, following schedules, and maintaining the timeline by themselves can make children follow the same. Rewarding children each time when they behave well and disciplined motivates them to learn faster by seeing the parents.
Behave as the best friend
The RIE parenting technique involves being the child’s best friend. Listening to the child and paying attention to their problems and feelings make them feel important. Moreover, they look forward to seeking advice from their parents. A healthy relationship between the parents and the child is a sign of good parenting.
Collaborating with the child
Parents should not just teach the kids but also teach themselves. This makes the child know about their responsibilities and give them a role in it.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Advantages
- The child develops faster and picks up the motor skills on his own.
- Cares about the emotional intelligence
- Enhances cognitive development
- Improves creativity
Disadvantages
- Lack of touch, RIE parenting focuses on letting the kids cry while by touch or cradle, kids feel safe and at ease.
- More of free time, kids who spend much time alone, tend to lose their productivity.
- Listening to them, makes them grow too intelligent and now parents cannot act as a mentor rather become a listener.
- May fail achieving milestones, if no goals are set like routine preschooling parenting.
- Parents are taken for granted, as there is no competition behavior kids may have stunt growth of their personality.
Conclusion
RIE parenting should be given a try if one feels good about it. It should begin by making the surrounding around the baby safe and then stepping back and observing the baby. One may be astonished by the baby teaching their preferences by giving time to listen to them.
References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3399663/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7053073/
