Resources for Infant Educarers (RIE®)

Founded by Magda Gerber in 1978, Resources for Infant Educarers® (RIE®) is a nonprofit (educational) organization dedicated to the preservation and dissemination of the  work of its founding Director. The organization grew out of an emerging public interest in  the Educaring Approach® Magda created that was the first of its kind in the United States to focus on infancy. Her approach is based on respect for infants as complete  human beings from birth. She encouraged parents to trust their child to develop at their own pace and in their own time. She shared a strong belief in free and natural  movement for the child, allowing them to find balance both physically and emotionally  within the context of secure, caring, and respectful relationships. She discouraged the  use of equipment like bouncers, swings and infant seats that restrain the child's  movements for long periods of time. Magda's use of open-ended, simple play materials allows the child to explore a myriad of possibilities versus typical or educational toys  that often limit the child's curiosity and creativity becoming passive instead of active.

As a popular lecturer and teacher, Magda Gerber's work greatly influenced the field of early childhood education in the early years of infant group care. An in-depth explanation of the philosophy is contained in books written by Magda, including: Your  Self-Confident Baby and Dear Parent: Caring for Infants With Respect. Another popular book edited by Magda is The RIE Manual with an Expanded Edition edited by Deborah Greenwald and Joan Weaver.

Magda Gerber's philosophy, originally disseminated at the grassroots level in the 1970s  and 1980s, was far ahead of its time. In recent years, the value of her revolutionary recommendations for child-rearing has been more widely recognized, attracting a  significant following among both neuroscientific and research-based academics, birth three advocates, parents and professional caregivers around the world. Today, RIE is an international non-profit agency that teaches, supports, and  mentors parents and professionals, offering a variety of classes, training programs,  workshops, conferences, and mentoring opportunities both in person and on-line that  support adults and babies in their lives together.