Respectful Caregiving: Principles and Practice
With this 16-week course, you will have an opportunity to learn about and put into practice principles for caring for infants and toddlers with respect. This course is of great benefit to both parents and caregiving professionals.
Each week, you will express goals you have for your own practice and have an opportunity to check in with others about how you are growing and learning. In this way, you can choose which topics to emphasize to suit your family or career. You will be guided through group instruction, small group discussions, and one-on-one connection with your instructor. Our easy-to-use online platform provides comprehensive support via videos, discussion boards, and interactive exercises.
The semester-long commitment of this course pays off in taking you from questions and doubts to confidence and implementation.
Who takes this course:
This course will benefit anyone who wants to implement respectful care of infants and toddlers in their family lives or profession, including:
-
Parents
-
Grandparents and other relatives that care for children in the family
-
Child care staff & administrators
-
Nannies
-
Social workers
-
Early interventionists
-
Doulas
-
Infant mental health professionals
-
Newborn care specialists
-
Parenting coaches
-
and more!
Philosophical underpinnings
This course will help you put into practice principles of Respectful Caregiving. These include:
-
Respecting the authentically unfolding child
-
Trust in the child’s competence and their ability to seek and guide their own learning
-
Regular observation, the primary method for discovering the child’s authentic self and moment-to-moment needs
-
Allowing each caregiving adult to enjoy a secure attachment relationship with the child
-
Sincere invitations for the child to participate and connect during caregiving routines
-
A safe and challenging environment for play
-
Ample time for the child to play and freedom to choose the nature of their play
-
Clear, firm, and compassionate limits
Your learning will be guided by a thoughtful blending of child development theory. Our goal is to efficiently give you a good handle on the foundational theory, so that you can focus on incorporating these ideas into your everyday life with infants and toddlers.
Students will receive a Respectful Caregiving certificate upon course completion. For more information about course certification, please see the FAQ.
What is class like?
This course is a mixed format that includes independent study, frequent observations, recorded lectures, online discussion, and interactive Zoom sessions.
Weekly Modules:
-
Orientation
-
1. Introduction to Respectful Caregiving
-
2. History and Theory
-
3. Observation
-
4. Attachment Theory
-
5. Natural Gross & Fine Motor Development
-
6. Play
-
7. Environments
-
8. Diapering, Bathing & Dressing
-
9. Feeding
-
10. Sleep
-
11. Setting Limits
-
12. Working With Adults
-
13. A Community Of Care
-
14. Closing
-
Finishing Up
Zoom classes
We will be using Zoom for our live (synchronous) class hours. In order to receive a certificate of completion, you will need to attend Zoom classes at the time they are held (up to two absences are allowed). You will need to give the course your full attention and to have your video on to demonstrate that engagement. You should expect the Zoom sessions to be interactive and full of discussion, brief lectures, videos, questions, and group activities.
A group learning experience
You will learn in a cohort of your peers, with time spent in large and small group discussion. Your small groups will be assigned based on the goals you express at the beginning of the course and are consistent to allow you to get to know each other well. This course is intentionally kept small at 12-15 participants, which gives you the chance to form a productive learning relationship with your fellow students and your instructor.
Independent Study
This course is a similar level of time commitment as a semester-long college child development course. Expect to spend around 4-6 hours on the course each week:
-
1-2 hours in Zoom class, doing group activities and participating in discussion
-
1-2 hours watching recorded lectures and other videos independently
-
1-2 hours on reading, journaling, and assignments
Observation and Practice Assignments
Each week, you will choose a way that you intend to put what you have learned into practice. This can reflect a big, overarching goal, or something small and concrete from that week’s work. This Practice for the week will always include a short Observation, ensuring that the work you are doing takes into account real-world information coming from the child in front of you. Each week, you will write something in your journal about what you experienced or learned from your Observation and Practice. Your journal becomes a tool for sharing your learning journey with your instructor and your future self.
This course is designed primarily for those who spend time with infants and toddlers in their everyday lives. However, families expecting a child and those who are currently between childcare jobs can still attend the course and will be able to conduct weekly Observation and Practice using our library of videos and tailored suggestions from the instructor.
Other Assignments
In addition to the weekly Observation and Practice Assignments, you will be asked to complete
-
A mid-course self-reflection
-
A short presentation for your small group on a course topic that is of particular interest to you
-
An end-course self-reflection
Our goal is to support multiple modes of learning and to make the course as accessible as possible. For this reason, there are multiple options for these assignments and your weekly journal. You may type, handwrite, record a video, or schedule office hours with your instructors to complete your assignment in a dialogue format. We look forward to welcoming all students as they are and adapting the course to suit any individual needs that may arise. Read more about our welcome policy here.
Course Completion
All assignments in the course are graded on a complete/incomplete basis, with qualitative feedback standing in the place of a letter grade or percentage. In order to complete the course and receive a certificate, you will need to complete all assignments and attend all Zoom classes. To give you some flexibility, you can use a free pass on up to 2 assignments and up to 2 Zoom classes. If you need to be absent more than 2 times or need to miss more than 2 assignments, please contact us before signing up for the course.
You Will Need
There are a few required textbooks and other materials that you will need to participate in the course:
-
tech requirements:
-
access to a computer (it is possible to use a borrowed computer for one day and a smartphone for the rest of the course)
-
a consistent internet connection
-
the Zoom app for video conferencing
-
a web browser such as Chrome or Safari for our online course platform
-
a word processing application such as Word, Pages, or Google Docs (recommended, but it is also possible to handwrite or use other formats)
-
-
a physical journal for your reflections (example), or you can type your journal
-
Teaching and Learning with Infants and Toddlers by Mary Jane Maguire-Fong (2nd Edition)
-
to borrow: a baby doll of realistic size, with clothing and a diaper (example)
-
a collection of household items from your kitchen or loose parts from nature for free play
Questions?
Check out the FAQ below.
Tuition & What's Included
Your registration for this course includes:
-
a one-on-one introductory meeting with your instructor
-
live group activities and discussion via Zoom once a week
-
recorded lectures and videos to be watched independently
-
weekly directed assignments with qualitative feedback
-
access to instructor office hours for one-on-one help
-
access to the Respectful Caregiving Facebook group
-
upon completion of all course content, a certificate of completion
Tuition: $995 USD
-
Early Bird Pricing - use coupon code EARLYBIRD for 10% off if you register at least one month prior to course start date.
-
Limited needs-based financial assistance is available.
-
Nonrefundable installment plan available.
About Your Instructor:
Christina Vlinder
I have been working with infants, toddlers, and older children in child care and private homes since 1999. I began my career with some ideas about what I didn't want to do, but no concrete plan for what I did want to do. I worked with many families and slowly began to figure out what felt right. Once I began studying child development in a more rigorous way, I was able to relate those gut feelings to the huge body of scientific knowledge we now have about what children need and what helps them thrive.
I discovered that the approach that most accurately satisfies both my gut and the research about infants and toddlers is the Educaring Approach (also known as RIE for Resources for Infant Educarers), created by infant specialist Magda Gerber. I began studying with RIE in 2010 and became a RIE Associate in 2017.
Since then, I have taught RIE Parent-Infant Guidance™ Classes, RIE Before Baby™, RIE Nurturing Nanny™ and RIE Foundations. I have served as a guest speaker at conferences and podcasts, hosted local events, and led workshops for large groups of learners. I look forward to sharing what I know with you and to hearing your thoughtful questions and feedback.
Upcoming Courses
Winter/Spring 2026
Instructor: Christina Vlinder
Sixteen Zoom sessions on Saturdays 10:00am - 12:00 noon Pacific Time
January 3, 10, 17, 24, 31
February 7, 14, 21, 28
March 7, 14, 21, 28
April 4, 11, 18
Spots open. Registration opens soon. Waitlisted participants get 2 weeks of priority registration.
Register by December 6th with the code EARLYBIRD to receive 10% off on tuition.
Looking for a possibility not listed here? If you have a group of 10-14 people who would like to take the course, you can use the contact form to request a private course.
Other Offerings
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.
Scholarship Fund
Every session, there are many students who would like to learn about better ways of caring for infants and toddlers but who can't afford the cost of the course.
Respectful Caregiving scholarships come from two places: donations and our Amazon affiliate program. The affiliate program sends a small portion of each sale you make after clicking on one of our Amazon links to the scholarship fund. So, thank you for using links from this site!
You can also make a difference by donating. 100% of your donation goes to scholarships. Thank you for helping others to improve the lives of infants and toddlers!
