Respectful Caregiving

Guidance for parents and caregivers

that respects the needs of babies

and the adults around them,

allowing secure attachment

and the best possible start in life

RIE® Nurturing Nanny™

Caring for a baby is an extremely important job. All babies deserve to be cared for with respect, which is the hallmark of Magda Gerber’s Educaring® Approach. The RIE Nurturing Nanny course is for in-home caregivers and offers knowledge and practical suggestions that can help make this work easier and more enjoyable, resulting in advantages for the infants and young children who receive professional care.

This course is being held online during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Parent Coaching

I am available for parent coaching sessions on a regular or one-off basis. All appointments are via phone during the pandemic. Video chat available on request.

Topics can include sleep consulting, setting up a play space, troubleshooting difficult toddler dynamics, and much more.

Book a Session

Attachment Theory For Nannies

Attachment Theory is the primary theory for how infants and toddlers develop during the first three years of life. In this self-paced online course, you will have an opportunity to learn how babies form their first relationships and how the quality of these relationships has a profound impact on the rest of their life. We will cover the types of attachment and how attachment patterns are recorded in the brain. You will also learn hands-on skills for fostering a secure attachment with babies you care for and how to speak to parents about a child's attachment needs.

This course consists of a 3-hour recorded webinar, discussion questions, a quiz to asses your learning, and a certificate for your portfolio.

Coming Soon!

Career Skills for Nannies

Are you looking to improve your skills at the business aspects of being a nanny? Learn from successful career nannies in this workshop, taught the day after each of my Nurturing Nanny courses.

Topics covered include:

finding families that align with your values and appreciate your skills
determining the appropriate hourly rate for your education and experience
developing a professional resume
preparing for interviews
creating a contract, with examples
getting paid over the table to secure your financial future
working as a fluid, respectful team with parents, other nannies, and household staff
saying goodbye to the child and family when the time comes

This course is being held online during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Register

Parent Support During COVID-19

If the pandemic has you feeling overwhelmed, you aren't alone. I have teamed up with several colleagues to offer a limited number of free parent support sessions to those of you experiencing financial pressure.

You can book a session on any topic relating to infants or toddlers. We look forward to being your listening ear during this difficult time.

Book a Session

Christina Vlinder

My philosophy is inspired by the work of infant specialist Magda Gerber, who created the Educaring® Approach and founded Resources for Infant Educarers® (RIE®). I became a RIE® Associate in 2017 and have been studying with RIE® since 2010. I have been working with infants and older children as a nanny since 1999. I use my knowledge of the Educaring® Approach and years of experience working with children to serve families in the San Francisco Bay Area through nanny work and parent education.

Recent Articles

Why Should You Get Paid Over the Table?

How to Ask Your Nanny-Family to Help Pay For Professional Development

Don't Stress, Just Spot - How To Keep Kids Safe in Challenging Situations Without Taking Over

Toy Guide

Learn about how toy selection impacts the way babies play and learn.

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Wiffle balls in stainless steel bowl wife balls in a stainless steel bowl	stainless steel measuring spoons y	Bottles in a caddy
toy spatulas and spoons	A dangling chain	Assortment of stainless steel object
Wooden pretend food	Wooden rings on bottle necks	little plastic cups
An assortment of balls	Wooden balls

Read the Guide

What is Educaring®?

Excerpts from Dear Parent by Magda Gerber

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THE BASIS OF THE EDUCARING® APPROACH: RESPECT

Respect is the basis of the Educaring® Approach.

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.

SENSITIVE OBSERVATION

Our method, guided by respect for the infant’s competence, is observation. We observe carefully to understand the infant’s communications and his needs.

The more we observe, the more we understand and appreciate the enormous amount and speed of learning that happens during the first two or three years of life. We become more humble, we teach less, and we provide an environment for learning instead.

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TIME FOR

UNINTERRUPTED PLAY

AND FREEDOM TO EXPLORE

We give the infant plenty of time for uninterrupted play. Instead of trying to teachbabies new skills, we appreciate and admire what babies are actually doing.

OUR GOAL:

AN AUTHENTIC CHILD

An authentic child is one who feels secure, autonomous, competent, and connected.

When we help a child to feel secure, feel appreciated, feel that “somebody is deeply, truly interested in me,” by the way we just look, the way we just listen, we influence that child’s whole personality, the way that child sees life.

A SAFE, CHALLENGING, AND EMOTIONALLY NURTURING ENVIRONMENT

Our role is to create an environment in which the child can best do all the things that the child would do naturally. As infants become more mobile, they need safe, appropriate space in which to move. Their natural, inborn desire to move should not be handicapped by the environment.

We provide an emotionally nurturing environment by responding to the child's cues and nurturing a secure attachment relationship.

CONSISTENCY

We establish clearly defined limits and communicate our expectations to develop discipline.

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TRUST IN THE INFANT’S COMPETENCE

We have basic trust in the infant to be an initiator, to be an explorer eager to learn what he is ready for.

Because of this trust, we provide the infant with only enough help necessary to allow the child to enjoy mastery of her own actions.

Dad is going to change a diaper to his s

CAREGIVING TIMES: INVOLVING THE CHILD

During care activities (diapering, feeding, bathing, dressing, etc.), we encourage even the tiniest infant to become an active participant rather than a passive recipient of the activities. Parents create opportunities for interaction, cooperation, intimacy and mutual enjoyment by being wholeheartedly with the infant during the time they spend together anyway.

“Refueled” by such unhurried, pleasurable caring experiences, infants are ready to explore their environment with only minimal intervention by adults.

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TIME TO PLAY WITH PEERS

We give infants the freedom to explore and interact with other infants.

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Did you know there are now over 15 RIE® Associates, Interns, and Practicum students offering their services in the greater San Francisco Bay Area?

Together we formed the Bay Area Infant Toddler Network and offer parent infant classes, consulting, and workshops. Check out the many offerings at the Bay Area Infant Toddler website!

Parent Coaching

Career Skills for Nannies

Parent Support During COVID-19

Christina Vlinder

An assortment of balls

Yogurt containers, traslucent in the sun

pop beads in a red colander

Wiffle balls in stainless steel bowl

wife balls in a stainless steel bowl

stainless steel measuring spoons

y

Bottles in a caddy

toy spatulas and spoons

A dangling chain

Assortment of stainless steel object

Wooden pretend food

Wooden rings on bottle necks

little plastic cups