“We not only respect babies, we demonstrate our respect every time we interact with them. Respecting a child means treating even the youngest infant as a unique human being, not as an object.”
- Magda Gerber
Mindful Caregiving
Children’s’ primary needs are to eat, sleep, play and be loved. We offer a calm, home environment where children have plenty of time for uninterrupted play, and where caregiving routines such as nappy changing and feeding are slow and unhurried, and offer the child the full attention of the adult caring for them.
During interactions with children we demonstrate respect by telling them what will happen before we do something, allowing time for them to process what has been said and then to respond, and by asking for their help – for example asking a child to lift their bottom during a nappy change. We talk to children, not over them, and view them as competent, capable human beings, rather than objects.
By seeing children in this way and allowing them to be active participants during interactions we help them to feel autonomous and competent, and content and secure in their surroundings. This also allows them to be their authentic self, as they know that they are valued and respected for who they are.
