RIE parenting philosophy is centered around perceiving an infant as a whole person from the very beginning. This has an affect on the way we talk to the baby. We recommend talking to babies right away, telling them everything that's happening with their bodies, what we're doing with them. Every time before we pick the baby up, we tell the baby, "I'm going to pick you up." We wait a few moments. We look at them. We start to wait for a signal that they're ready, and we might even say, "Are you ready?" And then we slowly and gently pick them up.

RIE Parenting Importance

The focus is on helping parents to look at their baby as a unique individual from the very first days. We believe that they come into the world with their own personalities, with their own likes and dislikes, and the ability and desire to participate in relationship with us, and to participate in their own learning. One of the real popularities of RIE is it's very empowering to kids, and I will sort of tell on my husband a little bit. There are a lot of times where I'll say, like, "Mmm, leave her alone. Let her figure it out on her own." Because I think it really does empower kids.