Buy All of These ✅ Ok ok. Buy one of these.
My favorite baby book? I won’t choose and you can’t make me. But, maybe you’re not koo-koo for parenting books like me, and you’d really just prefer to read one. Sigh. Ok, I’ll help you narrow it down: Your Self-Confident Baby and Being with Babies are both geared towards those who work with infants in childcare environments. On the other hand, Elevating Childcare (by Janet Lansbury) is written for anyone interested in respectful parenting- childcare worker or not.
Elevating Childcare by Janet Lansbury is a must-read for anyone interested in child development and having a closer, more fulfilling parent/child relationship, She hits all the high notes in daily life with tiny humans: eating, sleeping, diaper changes, communication, separation, attention span, boundaries, and more. Honestly, every time I dive into her work, whether it’s reading one of her books or listening to her podcasts, I’m flooded with inspiration and empowered to be the parent my children need. Lansbury often credits her inspiration to her mentor, Magda Gerber who authored Your Self-Confidant Baby.
Repeat after me: Once I’ve fulfilled my child’s basic needs, my only responsibility regarding feelings is to accept and acknowledge them.
Elevating Childcare by Janet Lansbury
Your Self-Confident Baby by Magda Gerber is a classic resource geared towards those who work with babies in childcare environments, but can be incredibly useful for any first-time parents. The RIE approach, founded by Gerber, provides parents with a framework that allows their babies to grow and develop at their own pace, emphasizing the importance of trust. To accomplish this, parents must observe their infants closely, recognizing their innate ability to learn, explore, and solve problems on their own.
Childhood is not a race to see how quickly a child can read, write and count. It is a small window of time to learn and develop at the pace that is right for each individual child. Earlier is not better.
Your Self-Confident Baby by Magda Gerber
Being with Babies by Beverly Kovach is another excellent resource ideal for caregivers in group care settings. Kovach’s original profession was a nurse and then a family counselor. The daycare options available to her young children at that time left her feeling disappointed. That frustration propelled her into creating change – a high quality approach to infant care that addressed the challenges of a group setting. Being with Babies uses Gerber’s RIE approach and any Montessori Infant program worth attending is going to be following the guidelines outlined by Kovach.
Resources for Christian Discipline 