The Nurtured Child

02/02/2026

Anna Ruth here 👋🏽

A snowstorm in my childhood home, unshoveled sidewalks, and a lost Wordle streak shouldn’t be connected-and yet here we are…

Our most recent essay is live on Substack now ✨✨

01/27/2026

Leith reminding us of the qualities of true presence ❤️

01/11/2026

“A child playing is engaged in the deep human work of exploring that there are many ways to be in this moment. Many ways to interpret what happened. Many ways to feel about it. Many ways to live”

Left to their own devices, children are shockingly good at perspective taking.

01/09/2026

Attention anyone who resides in NY State: if you’re interested in free, high-quality childcare for all, please use this super simple form to email your legislator!

Fill out this form to send an email to your State Legislators and Governor Hochul asking them to fund free, universal child care by taxing the rich. The content of the email that will be sent is as follows:

12/31/2025

✨Happy New Year✨

Tonight the year turns over

12/16/2025

Anna Ruth here 👋🏽

When we fill every moment with language, we can accidentally crowd the infant out of the interaction.

Try leaving little pockets of quiet.

Give space for them to speak with their body, breath, gaze, movement.

✨✨✨

10/23/2025

The Legacy We Carry 🐣

Most of us were raised in environments that valued achievement, tidiness, and “getting it right.”

Maybe we learned early that mistakes made others uncomfortable — that adults sighed, frowned, or quickly fixed things for us.

Those small, repeated messages form deep patterns.

They can make it hard to relax when life 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 messy.

In the Pikler® and RIE® approaches, we are invited to observe without judgment, to allow a child’s process to unfold naturally.

But when we notice tension rise in ourselves, it can be worth asking:
* What part of me is uncomfortable right now?
* What story am I carrying about what should be happening?
* Whose voice am I hearing — mine, or someone from my past?

Sometimes, the hardest work isn’t about our child at all. It’s about gently tending to the traces of our own upbringing 🙌♥️

10/09/2025

Leith here 👋

Sometimes the most powerful moments of parenting aren’t about teaching a lesson.
They’re about sitting with the hurt — without rushing to fix it.

This is a story about a child, a magic rock, and a small heartbreak that became something bigger:
a chance to practice empathy, presence, and connection.

No moral to tie it up neatly. No life lesson wrapped in a bow.
Just a moment of truth-telling. Of sitting beside someone you love and saying:

“𝒀𝒆𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝑰’𝒎 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆.”

This is the kind of teaching that lasts.
This is the kind I try to practice — 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏 and 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏.

10/04/2025

Before a child knows the word “I”,
before they recognize their reflection in a mirror—
they see themselves in you.

In your eyes, your voice, your presence.

They don’t ask: Am I good?
They wonder: Am I seen? Am I safe? Am I welcome?

And your gaze answers those questions before language ever can.

When we meet their moments with presence instead of praise, recognition instead of evaluation, we help build something far deeper than self-esteem:
a felt sense of self-worth.

This is why connection matters more than performance.
Why observation is more powerful than interruption.
Why your attunement today echoes in who they believe they are tomorrow.

You don’t need to do more.
You just need to see them.

🐣 You are their first mirror. Reflect back love, safety, and truth.

09/30/2025

This week’s cover by — titled “Free Play” — stopped us in our tracks. It shows a child quietly immersed in simple, open-ended play, with no flashy toys or distractions — just space, time, and trust.

For those of us who follow RIE® or Pikler® principles, this image beautifully captures what we believe: children thrive when given the freedom to explore at their own pace, with just the simplest materials and plenty of unhurried time.

Let’s remember: it’s not about more toys or constant entertainment — it’s about presence, respect, and the gift of open space to play and grow.

💬 How do you create space for free play in your home or care setting? Share below!

08/16/2025

https://nurturedchild.substack.com/p/this-is-not-that-kind-of-class ✨

Why a RIE® Class isn’t just another activity for your baby—and why that matters.

07/26/2025

https://nurturedchild.substack.com/p/speak-honestly-to-children

Real questions, true words, and the dignity of honest dialogue from the start.