I realized the impact of RIE® and respectful parenting when I was out with another family for a play day. At the end of the play session, my daughter and my friend’s two children wanted to stay and were protesting leaving the park. I acknowledged my daughter’s feelings that she didn’t want to leave, that we had fun playing, and she could leave when she was ready. We repeated our conversation about 10 minutes later, and after that, she said she was ready to leave and started walking away. My friend and her children had a more emotional discussion, and afterwards, my friend asked me how I “knew” how to speak with my daughter. I was so surprised that she had observed my conversation, and it was the first time that I realized the impact of respectful parenting. She saw that when we had a dialogue, my daughter understood what I was telling her and that we could talk about what was happening without having a big, emotional reaction by both the parent and the child.
Principle: Basic trust in the child to be an initiator, an explorer, and a self-learner
— Christine H.
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