Learn About Respectful Parenting - Raised with Respect

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About Sarah
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About Sarah
- Contact
My Approach
- Yes Space Freebie
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.

Preparing for birth is big — but what about life

Preparing for birth is big — but what about life after your baby arrives?

This warm, community-based class helps expecting parents build confidence, connection, and real-life skills for those tender first months (and beyond). Rooted in respectful approaches from Gerber, Pikler, and Montessori — and led by a RIE/Repsectful Parenting educator and early childhood specialist — this course supports you as much as your baby.

Whether you’ve read every parenting book or don’t know where to start, we’ll meet you where you are. 💛

I’d love to have you join and help you start your parenting journey with confidence.

With love,
Sarah

I'm a BIG fan of yes spaces for so many reasons.

I'm a BIG fan of yes spaces for so many reasons.

If you want to learn more about what it is, why you might want to have one and how to actually create one in your home, comment "yes!" for my free guide!

I highly recommend creating a space at home that i

I highly recommend creating a space at home that is completely safe for your child/baby to play. This allows them the freedom to explore without being told ‘no’ and it allows you to either go do something else you enjoy or to sit and observe all the incredible things your child can do!

Babies are intrinsically motivated to explore and discover. They are all little scientists 👩🏼‍🔬 and just need the time and space to do it. There is so much learning happening all on their own.

My play space is curated for every group as a safe area for them to explore freely so that parents can sit back and observe or chat with the other parents. Less stress and more freedom (for you and baby). So join a play group or reach out to me for ideas on how to create this kind of space at home 🏡

With love,
Sarah

I’ve created a little graphic of all of my offer

I’ve created a little graphic of all of my offerings and how I can support you and your family. It (hopefully) makes all my offerings more clear with a timeline of when best to access what service ☀️

Links for everything are in my bio or just go to my website www.raisedwithrespect.org

I look forward to meeting you and your family!

With love,
Sarah

I decided to do a bit of a rebrand of my Young Inf

I decided to do a bit of a rebrand of my Young Infant group because I think there are lots of people who wouldn’t think to look for a ‘play group’ for their newborn. The group is pretty much the same with some minor tweaks, a new web page, and a new name. Please allow me to introduce you to:

✨Gentle Beginnings✨

A slow-paced parent group for early bonding and support

These groups are part parent support group, part introduction to social time and play for your baby, and part guidance on parenting and infant development. You will have the opportunity to connect with other parents (maybe even make some real friends!), build a community of like-minded parents, and witness all the incredible learning your baby does naturally.

I will use our time to introduce concepts of the RIE/Respectful Parenting approach and to facilitate discussions around common areas of concern, including: developmental milestones, sleep, feeding, infant play, attachment, self-care, and much more.

I’d love to have you join. Link in bio with all the details.

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.

Link in bio with all the details 🔗

With love,
Sarah

Picked a date for my fall infant workshop! If you

Picked a date for my fall infant workshop! If you or someone you know is having a baby this fall/winter, this workshop is for them!

This workshop is also great for birthworkers such as birth doulas, midwives, postpartum doulas, or nannies. Birthworkers also get $25 tickets with promo code "birthworker" ❤️

Spots are very limited in my space so snag a spot today!

Hope to see you there!
With love,
Sarah

If you take nothing else from Respectful Parenting

If you take nothing else from Respectful Parenting, I hope you take this - Your relationship with your child matters so much more than any script or specific strategy. It is always the most important thing.

If things are hard, work on the relationship first and foremost. Build time for connection without agenda and remind your child that you are there for them and love them no matter what.

As my pal, Sarah DeLuca (@sowhatihearyousayingis), says - "Your relationship is your superpower." 💪🏼

With love,
Sarah

Getting a text from a parent saying their child’

Getting a text from a parent saying their child’s birthday party was filled with play group families, seeing a couple of moms exchange numbers, or hearing that a group of parents met up at a brewery just fills my heart.

I didn’t expect this to be one of the biggest benefits of running these groups—but it is. It’s pretty rare to have children at the same time as your already established friends, and making new friends is hard, even when you’re not also adjusting to life with a new baby. And yet, the postpartum stage is exactly when those friendships are most needed.

I’ve been so pleased to see these groups fostering lasting connections among families.

With love,
Sarah

Where did the 3 day approach come from? If anyone

Where did the 3 day approach come from? If anyone knows, please tell me

Yes, babies can learn a lot in 3 days if we put all of our focus on that thing, but I think a much more flexible and relaxed approach is better.

An approach that treats learning to use the toilet just like any of the other hundreds of skills young children learn.

An approach that recognizes learning new skills requires:

Observation
Trial and error
Flexibility
Patience (especially from us!)
And a whole lot of trust

I totally understand that sometimes a quicker process is necessary—especially when daycare or preschool policies require toilet independence. (And yes, I wish that weren’t the case.) But when there’s no urgent deadline, I hope more families consider a slower, more flexible approach.

It just might make things a whole lot less stressful—for everyone.

With love,
Sarah

Everyone's invited to Raised with Respect's annual

Everyone's invited to Raised with Respect's annual summer park play date. This year we have a location change. We will meet at Library Park in Old Town. If it's too hot, families can take a break in the Library.

Where: Library Park
When: Saturday, July 12th | 9 am to 11:30 am

Even if you haven't attended a play group or a workshop, you are welcome to join. Come on by to meet me and hang out with some amazing families.

I'll have blankets (but please bring one too if you can) and snacks/beverages to share. Can't wait to see you there!

Think ✨parent support group + beginning play + e

Think ✨parent support group + beginning play + education and guidance in parenting and infant development + finding your village ✨

This group is something special and I'd love to have you join. Link in bio ❤️

As an elder millennial, I wasn’t sure what this

As an elder millennial, I wasn’t sure what this “type C” parenting trend was👵🏼. Turns out, it’s just a rebrand of Respectful Parenting!!

✅ Balancing structure and flexibility

✅ Embracing imperfect moments

✅ Prioritizing connection and emotional well-being

✅ Self-awareness and self-care

✅ Teaching children about resilience and adaptability

✅ Empowering children

These are things I talk about all the time with parents. Call it what you like, but it’s Respectful Parenting - which is actually a rebranding of authoritative parenting (but that doesn’t quite roll off the tongue).

There are always going to be new names for things, but we aren’t reinventing the wheel here.

Respect for yourself and respect for your kid. You’re both people with flaws and imperfections. It’s all beautiful.

With love,
Sarah

I love the slow rhythm of these classes. There's n

I love the slow rhythm of these classes. There's no rush, there's no goal or agenda, just precious time to enjoy 💕

When introducing our snack routine to new groups o

When introducing our snack routine to new groups or new members of the group, I always allow for some flexibility to the rules. One goal is to help parents see that you can be both kind and firm in your rules AND there can be space for exceptions - sometimes.

Sometimes a child has trouble sitting alone, so they sit on their parent’s lap for a few classes.

Sometimes a child doesn’t want their hands washed so a parent might assist or just a tap on the warm, wet, cloth will suffice.

Sometimes a child experiments with pouring their water on the table. They are given another chance and reminded that the water in our cups is for drinking.

As time goes on, we move towards being more consistent with the rules, always keeping respect for the child and their needs as my priority.

With love,
Sarah

🤸🏼‍♀️Risky play is so important for de

🤸🏼‍♀️Risky play is so important for developing body awareness, critical thinking, motor planning, self-confidence... The list truly goes on and on.

For bigger kids, playgrounds are an excellent place for risky play, but for infants and toddlers, playground equipment is often too large for them to access, or for the adventurous toddler, too tall to be safe for them to climb and explore independently - requiring an adult to hover ☹️

It’s rare to find spaces that are built to allow risky play for infants and toddlers.

My space is curated to allow just that. Any major hazards ⚠️are removed, extra cushioning in “higher-risk” areas is added, and the equipment available is sized for their particular stage of gross motor development and size 👶🏼.

During groups, I encourage parents to sit back and observe 🧘🏽‍♂️ while I ‘spot’ risky play (sometimes if I’m busy with another child, a parent will step in to help).

My approach with spotting is to be near (when I need to be- which isn't always), but hands off - trusting in the child to figure it out on their own. I’m ready to catch or buffer their fall, but I want them to experience that feeling of falling or loss of balance in order to build all of those body awareness and motor planning skills.

While the occasional bumps do happen 🩹, they are pretty rare and I think the benefits far outway the risks.

How do you feel about risky play?

With love,
Sarah

The objectives here are twofold: 1- I want the pa

The objectives here are twofold:

1- I want the parents/caregivers to be able to relax and just enjoy. I don’t want them to worry about if their child is playing ‘correctly’ or if they are going to get hurt.

There is no right way to play, so whatever they choose to play with and however they choose to play with it is perfect (outside of damaging property or hurting anyone). My job is to ‘spot’ and provide ‘selective intervention’ when necessary to keep all the children safe and to help with any conflicts that arise (when help is needed - which is actually pretty rare).

2- I want the babies and toddlers to get some practice (in a safe and supportive environment) building confidence and trusting themselves to go out and play on their own when they are ready. If they don’t feel ready, I want them to trust that as well and be able to observe from the comfort and security of their parent’s cozy lap.

Some babies dive right in from the first class and others take one or several classes to feel comfortable exploring the space. Both are totally normal and both are trusted as right for that baby.

With love,
Sarah

Will the groups change once I become a RIE associa

Will the groups change once I become a RIE associate? Nope, not at all. I just get to put the RIE ‘stamp of approval’ on them.

There are so many other things about this approach that makes these groups unique. I’ll be sharing them over the next few weeks, so be on the lookout.

With love,
Sarah

This one hits hard doesn’t it? For me too 🫣

This one hits hard doesn’t it?
For me too 🫣

This isn’t meant to guilt or shame anyone, but just to notice. How often are you showing your child that you are obsessed with them? Perhaps we could all show them that a bit more.

With love,
Sarah

When an infant is treated with respect, they come

When an infant is treated with respect, they come to expect it for themselves and demand it for others as they grow into childhood and adulthood. What a powerful gift we are able to give our children and the world. 🌎❤️

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