Magda Gerber

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Magda Gerber (d. April 27, 2007) was an early childhood educator.

Gerber was born in Hungary, and received a Masters in early childhood education in Budapest. However, she attributes most of her practical education to pediatrician Emmi Pikler. Pikler's innovative theories on infant care were successfully tested the course of her tenure as medical director of Loczy, a state-run orphanage in Budapest. Gerber incorporated many of Pikler's theories into her own philosophy which she termed RIE (pronounced "wry") or Resources for Infant Educarers. The term educarer, which she also coined, refers to either a parent or other caregiver and emphasizes the role that they play in both caring and educating.

Gerber emigrated with her family to the United States in 1957, and developed and directed the Pilot Infant Program at the Dubnoff School. In 1973 she began teaching parent/infant classes, and in 1980 she founded the RIE Center in Los Angeles. In 1997 she wrote Your Self-Confident Baby: How to Encourage Your Child's Natural Abilities from the Very Start with Allison Johnson and in 2003 she wrote Dear Parent: Caring for Infants With Respect with Joan Weaver.

[edit] RIE

The RIE philosophy is based upon respecting infants as if they were fully functioning, spending quality time with them, learning their individual ways of communicating, not treating infants like objects, involving infants in the things that concern them, being honest with infants, and allowing infants to try to solve a problem without adult interference.

[edit] References

"Infants, Toddlers, and Caregivers: A Curriculum of Respectful, Responsive Care and Education". Gonalez-Mena, Janet, Widmeyer Eyer, Dianne. McGraw Hill, New York. 2004.