Parenting with Respect: Discover Dr. Emmi Pikler’s Transformative Approach to Infant Care
By Liz Hagerman, LPC, BC-DMT, and certified Pikler® Pedagogue
At The Center for Family Well-Being, we are dedicated to sharing the most impactful research and practices to support the health and harmony of individuals and families — including even the youngest among us. For parents of infants, babies, and young children, this means exploring the groundbreaking work of Dr. Emmi Pikler.
Pikler believed that babies have the right to be treated with respect — in their care, movement, and play — as individuals with their own thoughts and initiatives. Through decades of research, her discoveries about children’s natural motor development, play, and the transformative effects of respectful, responsive caregiving have reshaped how we view the caregiver-child relationship.
A Revolutionary Way of Parenting
The value of Pikler’s approach lies in its ability to shift how we see and interact with our children from birth, fostering a deeper sense of connection and mutual respect. As Clare Caro, Pikler Collection curator, explains in The Genius of Emmi Pikler:
“The training and guidance she [Dr. Emmi Pikler] designed for adults offered a new way to see and raise children in a kind and respectful manner that was revolutionary then, and still is today. Her ideas were effective inside the family home and in institutions, both for the very young baby through middle childhood. Her vision of a healthy infant was an active, competent and peaceful infant, who lives in peace with herself, others, and her environment.
Those who have grasped and applied Pikler’s ideas find peaceful and cooperative working relationships with children, extremely low illness reports in care facilities, harmonious family life, healthy and thriving children, and their own personal growth.”
A harmonious family life that nurtures healthy, thriving children is a goal shared by all parents. At the Center, we embrace Emmi Pikler’s groundbreaking approach with the hope of providing children a strong foundation of well-being from the very start — while also transforming how parents view their role and relationship with their little ones.
Anna Tardos, psychologist and daughter of Emmi Pikler, beautifully encapsulates how this gentle, respectful philosophy reshapes caregiving and self-perception, enhancing the well-being of both baby and caregiver:
"The application of Emmi Pikler’s respectful and affectionate image of the baby has helped babies to develop well, and adults to change their internal representations of the baby’s capacities and their role as care providers.”*
Sharing Dr. Emmi Pikler’s Approach at the Center
As a certified Pikler® Pedagogue, I’m thrilled to bring these transformative insights to the parents and babies we serve at the Center. Together, we’re laying the foundation for the next generation of nurturing relationships, confident children, and thriving families.
If you’d like to learn more about the Pikler approach, I offer private parent guidance sessions, as well as two clinical In Tune groups for parents and babies:
Infants & Caregivers In Tune: Cultivating Connection, Delight, and Well-Being Through the Pikler Approach (for a parent and their newborn, ~6-16 weeks in age)
Budding Babies In Tune: The Pikler-Guided Approach to Supporting Your Baby's Well-Being Through Their First Year (for a parent and their baby, ~16 weeks and older)
To see the dates or register for these groups, please click here, or contact the Center directly.
Curious how Liz found herself on the “Pikler Path”? Read more about her journey and training here:
In the Spotlight: Liz Hagerman
*Anna Tardos, Introducing the Piklerian Developmental Approach: History and Principles, The Signal World Association for Infant Mental Health Newsletter 2010
