Being a parent is full of uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure…ask anyone on the playground! (I’ve often said that judging other people’s parenting is our true national sport.) But settling down into a RIE in the Wild class lets you let go of…or rather maybe…lean into…your vulnerability. It’s a place to slow down, examine your impulses, and observe what happens when you let your child move through their own moments of uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure…something they do very naturally.
I see parents being vulnerable and courageous in every class I teach…when a Mom who is conscious about wanting to raise a respectful young man sits on her hands when her infant son reaches to take the toy from a baby girl’s hands. When a Dad lets his child put her head down and weep for the bottle she dropped far out of reach, gently empathizing and waiting for her to regroup and go after it. When two mothers simply sit back and watch a super energetic and physical toddler crouch down to gently embrace a child who hasn’t been to class in weeks, lying her head on his chest, as he lies (quite vulnerably) on his back. When a parent watches her child take a toy from someone who didn’t want to let it go, and when the other parent watches her child get something taken away. When a Mom comes close, but lets her child climb all the way up and then down on the Pikler triangle.
When you don’t rush through their feelings.
When you wait for them to discover something.
When you set a boundary you know your child will hate.
When you sit in your uncertainty, allow for a little risk, and allow your authentic self to shine…you know you’re a RIE parent.
Cheers to you. <3