Abstract

Magda Gerber’s approach to respectful care of infants and children begins with the idea of seeing infants, from the moment they are born, as whole, competent people. This approach named the RIE philosophy, or Resources for Infant Educarers has a simple core belief: respect infants by seeing them as capable participants in their world (Gerber, 2013, p. xv). The guidelines of this theory seem intuitive but in practice are often countercultural and are occasionally difficult to put into practice without significant perspective shifts. This approach has now been established as a non-profit organization with the primary goal of teaching families respectful parenting. With this approach, Magda Gerber founded the Program for Infants and Toddlers (PITC), a program for low-income and at-risk children. The PITC program inspired the framework of many future infant and toddler childcare programs. Learning technical principles and research from the Family Systems Theory related to attachment theory, conflict, and power in family dynamics might allow parents and educators to better understand and put into practice the principles of RIE. This understanding will ultimately promote more respectful care of young children.

How to Cite:

LaMonica, M., (2022) “How Understanding Family Systems Promotes the Respectful Care of Children”, Arizona Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies 8, 88-95.