Learn About Respectful Parenting - Raised with Respect

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About Sarah
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About Sarah
My Approach
Learn More
Work With Me

learn about respectful parenting

Below you’ll find the content I post to Instagram (@Raised.With.Respect). Click on an image to learn more.

This workshop is full of super valuable informatio

This workshop is full of super valuable information to help make caring for your infant so much easier and enjoyable. This is knowledge that I WISH my husband and I had had before becoming parents. It would have been a game-changer and I know it can be for you.

Respectful Caregiving for Infants is ideal for expecting parents and other caregivers for infants. Parents of newborns are a great fit as well (I’m just guessing those folks are less available for a workshop).

Date: March 1, 2025 | 10 am to 12 pm
Location: Raised with Respect | 503 Remington St Suite 04
Fort Collins, CO 80524

Tickets are $55 and include an (optional) partner. Your partner can be any support person of your choosing.

I look forward to sharing with you!
Sarah

🥳Introducing🥳 Respectful Parenting “Office

🥳Introducing🥳 Respectful Parenting “Office Hours”

Are you a former or current Raised with Respect play group family? Have you attended one of Sarah DeLuca’s Respectful Parenting workshops? Are you looking for more support?

Join the Respectful Parenting Sarah’s for our new “Office Hours”!

🗓️The second Sunday of every month, we’ll be hanging out at Lima Coffee, available to chat, answer your questions, and cheer you on.

You can come anytime between 10 am and 12 pm. No need to let us know ahead of time.

This is such an incredible community of parents and we want to support you 💚

See you soon!
Sarah & Sarah

Parents often think that if they acknowledge the w

Parents often think that if they acknowledge the wish, it’s going to make things worse, but I have found the opposite to be true! Our children don’t need us to explain the (often numerous) reasons why they can’t do what they want. They need us to sit in their sadness for a bit and feel understood. They need to connect with us.

I definitely don’t always remember to do this, - the instinct to explain and justify is STRONG - but when I do, it has always gone more smoothly.

And when we can give them a choice or autonomy, do it. It will make the "nos" much easier.

With love,
Sarah

When it comes to play, trusting our children to kn

When it comes to play, trusting our children to know when they are ready to try something is pretty much always my recommendation.

I get it. There are so many fun things to do and so many things that you know your child will love, but if we push them to do it before they are ready, it’s not going to be fun. It’s probably going to be scary.

Of course, there are times when our child wants to do something but is feeling nervous and needs a little support or encouragement, but that is very different from pushing them to try something before they are ready or interested.

We have visited this sea center many times over the last 7 years and my son was never ready to pet the sharks, rays, anemone, and urchins. Until today. Even before we arrived he said he wanted to do it and knew he was ready. He spent a solid 20 minutes at the tanks gently petting the sea creatures.

It was such a joy to watch him go in with confidence and truly enjoy the experience. Definitely worth the wait.

With love,
Sarah

#respectfulparenting #rieapproach

Hey NOCO birth workers and perinatal professionals

Hey NOCO birth workers and perinatal professionals! If you work with parents and their babies we'd live to have you join!

Let's connect, share our passions, and vent about our challenges ❤️

When: The third Thursday of every month from 1-3
Where: Reconnect Chiropractic
Loveland, CO

We can't wait to meet you!
Sarah (Raised with Respect) and Kylee (Kylee the doula)

I try to have at least a couple of teething toys a

I try to have at least a couple of teething toys available in all my play groups. And they always get used.

It seems many folks think teethers are just for babies, but let's not forget about those 2-year molars 🦷🦷

Also! Chewing on teethers(or other safe objects) can be very soothing for toddlers (people of all ages really). A great tool on the road to more independent self regulation.👏🏼

This beautiful poem always brings me hope when the

This beautiful poem always brings me hope when the world feels hopeless 💔

I am going to take time today to rest in the peace of wild things and then I will. keep. going. ❤️

Every week I get to witness babies and toddlers ex

Every week I get to witness babies and toddlers explore this space. They get to decide with what and how they will play. Without agenda.

Babies are all about the process not the end result (often the opposite for adults) and it's just magical to observe and a great reminder for us grown-ups 💖

#respectfulparenting #rieapproach #babies #toddlers

I find it pretty difficult to succinctly describe

I find it pretty difficult to succinctly describe the RIE philosophy to people that are unfamiliar with it. There is just so much to it and so much nuance This thought experiment is the best I’ve come up with to get at the core of this dually radical and “commonsensical” approach .

While I recognize that this is not a perfect comparison - infants are not just little adults. They are, however, fully human and, just like in the example, they are extremely dependent on others (usually one or two primary caregivers) to get their needs met.

So I think we should do all of these same things for our babies. From day one.

That means welcoming emotions, communicating clearly and honestly, giving them “a say”, showing compassion for the challenges they face, and making mutual respect the cornerstone of the relationship.

Who’s with me?

With love,
Sarah

Perinatal professionals 🤝 Doulas 🤝 Birth wor

Perinatal professionals 🤝 Doulas 🤝 Birth workers 🤝 If you are reading this and you serve growing families in some way, we want you to join us at our meetup!

Sarah of @raised.with.respect and Kylee, as in
@kyleethedoula, are coming together with a shared vision to keep our network strong and our community stronger.

We are hosting a perinatal professionals meetup the third Thursday of each month. Our next one is September 19th!

This is the perfect opportunity to connect, collaborate, and share about what you’re offering to the famílies of NoCo.

We will be meeting Thursday 9/19 at 1pm at @dazbogcoffee on Council Tree in Fort Collins.

NOTE: Since we've outgrown the indoor meeting space, this month we will congregate in the courtyard outside near the council tree library entrance.

Save the reminder! Hope to see you 👋

I often try to swap out babies/children for the ad

I often try to swap out babies/children for the adults in different scenarios to consider. Would I do this to another adult? How would I want to be treated if I were in their shoes?

If I were almost completely dependent on others to care for me, to communicate for me, to meet my needs (emotional and physical). How would I want to be treated?

Does this mean I handle things perfectly all the time? Absolutely not. Just like I don’t handle every situation with other adult humans perfectly every time.

But RIE has gifted me a framework to fall back on. This framework makes it a whole lot easier to decide what to do moving forward. And for that, I am so grateful.

With love,
Sarah

There's not much sweeter than when a family takes

There's not much sweeter than when a family takes the time to write a review for this little business of mine 💕

It's such an honor to be a part of your lives. Thank you ❤️

We don’t often think about an infant’s autonom

We don’t often think about an infant’s autonomy. They are, of course, very dependent on us, but they are also deserving of autonomy when possible. There are so many small ways that we can support and encourage autonomy even in young infants:

✨“Are you ready for me to pick you up?”

Here we can pause and wait for them to ready themselves. Maybe they start to lift their arms or they lift their head slightly. In this pause, we give them a chance to prepare for this shift.

✨“Do you want to wear your dino outfit or your seashell outfit?”

This is a great starter skill for building both language skills and autonomy. Maybe they gaze at both outfits and then settle to look at just one. Maybe they keep looking back and forth and then you can help - “Hmm it looks like you aren’t sure. Let’s go with dinos today.” Either way, you are giving them a chance to communicate and responding to that communication - a first conversation!

✨Putting developmentally appropriate foods on their tray/table and letting them decide what and how much to eat.

Babies are pretty dang good at deciding when they are hungry and when they are full. Also self-feeding is safer and great practice for those fine motor skills.

✨“Grandpa would like to hold you. Is that okay?”

When a baby doesn’t have to transition to another adult I think it’s really important that we give them a say. Does your baby turn back towards you or do they reach out to Grandpa? Honor their communication when you can. “It looks like she’s not quite ready yet, Grandpa. Maybe in a little while.”

What are some other ways that you support your baby’s autonomy throughout their day? I bet there are more than you think!

With love,
Sarah

I love this quote. It so accurately describes that

I love this quote. It so accurately describes that ‘just right’ balance of helping and not helping. Of course when our babies cry we need to go to them, but I think we could all use a bit more practice in not rushing to solve the problem.

🐢Move slowly.

👂🏼Listen to their communication. Are they completely dysregulated and distressed or are they just a bit frustrated?

🤔Consider if you can just help a tiny bit without taking over or maybe just being near them is support enough.

There is so much nuance to when and how much help we provide, but I do think that parents often help too much and too quickly (myself included🙋🏼‍♀️). I have found it very worthwhile to stop and consider a bit more before stepping in.

With love,
Sarah

There is something special about these groups. It’s a bit hard to sum them up, but here are a few goals of mine:

✨To create a space where parents and caregivers can enjoy their children in an environment that is as stress free as possible.

✨To allow adults time to sit back and observe their child in play and not feel like they need to step in and intervene with every interaction.

✨Provide an opportunity for parents to truly connect with each other. To go deep, feel supported, and maybe even make a real friend or two.

✨To curate a space for the infants and toddlers that is safe, interesting, and inviting. A space where they are welcome to explore as they wish and at the pace they wish.

✨To support risky play and practice trusting babies and toddlers.

✨Provide a space for the babies and toddlers to interact together, and model how to support them in that play when needed (which is probably less often than you think).

So, I invite you to join. To witness and be part of the magic. The magic that is already present every day, but that sometimes we need a little nudge and the time and space to see.

With love,
Sarah

At the end of every 8-week Play Group session, I a

At the end of every 8-week Play Group session, I ask families to pick one word to sum up the previous 8 weeks (Thanks for letting me steal your idea @beechstreetparenting 💚). Above is a sample of the words families chose this round.

This has become such a nice way to end our time together and I love hearing all of the answers. The responses, of course, vary but they are always similar to the ones listed here.

I wish I had the opportunity to be a part of a group like this when my son was a baby, but it feels pretty incredible to be able to build what was missing for me and provide it to others.

Thank you to all of the families that have helped me build this incredible community.

With love,
Sarah

When picking out toys for babies. I’m a big advo

When picking out toys for babies. I’m a big advocate for simple objects that can continue to be enjoyed as the baby grows. These objects don’t even have to be actual “toys”.

This simple jar is a staple in my play groups and is used (and thoroughly enjoyed!) in all the groups ranging in age from ~3 to 28 months. I just make simple tweaks to it for the different groups as the babies’ fine motor and cognitive skills develop. Of course, each baby is different so the age ranges I give are approximate.

What are some unconventional toys that your baby has loved and continues to love?

With love,
Sarah

Hey, look at that! Raised with Respect is official

Hey, look at that! Raised with Respect is officially a toddler‼️ Let’s celebrate the terrific twos together❤️

When: Sunday, July 14th | 9 am to 12 pm
Where: Avery Park | 1101 Castlerock Dr., Fort Collins

🌈Bring your family, bring your friends, all are welcome.

🍌I will have blankets, drinks, and snacks (bananas included, duh!) to share.

I’m so proud of this community we are building together, and I can’t wait to celebrate with you all 🤗💚

“Why don’t you share your doll?” “Honey,

“Why don’t you share your doll?”
“Honey, you need to share your shovel.”
“You have to share or we’ll put the truck away.”

Have you said one of these (or something similar)? So have I.🙋🏼‍♀️ Obviously, the intent is to encourage the child to be generous and considerate. We all want that for our kids.

But "sharing" isn’t really the correct word for these situations. We aren’t going to break the toy apart and give a piece to each child. Yeah, yeah, I know that we all know the intent behind the word, but I think specificity can matter.

Shifting to ‘taking turns’ can help reduce the stress of these situations. - “Jacob’s still playing with that. You can have a turn when he’s done.”

Let’s save the “sharing” for cookies, pizza, and space under cuddly blankets. 🍕🍪

With love,
Sarah

There is something special about these groups. It’s a bit hard to sum them up, but here are a few goals of mine:

✨To create a space where parents and caregivers can enjoy their children in an environment that is as stress free as possible.

✨To allow adults time to sit back and observe their child in play and not feel like they need to step in and intervene with every interaction.

✨Provide an opportunity for parents to truly connect with each other. To go deep, feel supported, and maybe even make a real friend or two.

✨To curate a space for the infants and toddlers that is safe, interesting, and inviting. A space where they are welcome to explore as they wish and at the pace they wish.

✨To support risky play and practice trusting babies and toddlers.

✨Provide a space for the babies and toddlers to interact together, and model how to support them in that play when needed (which is probably less often than you think).

So, I invite you to join. To witness and be part of the magic. The magic that is already present every day, but that sometimes we need a little nudge and the time and space to see.

With love,
Sarah

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