Developmental Movement – Babies Project

Handling Practices: Some Historical Context

written by Sarah Barnaby on 08/15/2023

If you’re familiar at all with our approach to supporting infant movement development, you’re likely aware that a main focus of our work is teaching infant touch and handling skills to parents and other caregivers. (If you’re not familiar, read more about our Preparing for Caring project.)

We’d like to share a bit of context and history about our handling suggestions. Where did they come from? The short answer is that we didn’t make them up! There’s history behind them, though we do like to think we’ve honed, curated and elaborated upon them over the years.

The longer story … Read more

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Chaos Theory & Babies

written by Sarah Barnaby on 07/09/2023

…development is the outcome of the self-organizing processes of continually active living systems

…development does not “know” where it is going from the start

…the very nature of development itself — its contingent, evolving, emergent nature

(Esther Thelen, 1941-2004)

We’re inspired by the writing of Esther Thelen, a developmental psychologist and multidisciplinary out-of-the-box thinker who applied chaos theory (or dynamic systems theory) to infant development. Per a colleague’s tribute, Thelen “saw a child’s development more akin to a jazz improvisation than to a biological process driven by genes.”

Esther Thelen’s approach and research ring true for us: it … Read more

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Q&A: Follow-up about tummy time

written by Sarah Barnaby on 06/14/2023

In our previous Q&A post, we responded to a mother’s question about whether we recommend tummy time on a pillow for her 4-month-old. Our short answer was that we don’t think propping a baby on a pillow is particularly helpful for their movement development. What we encourage instead is supporting a baby to develop their midline and hands skills so they can spend time on their belly while engaged in play with an object.

We’ve since heard back from the parent, who sent new photos of their now 5-month-old engaged with toys on her belly and for contrast, propped … Read more

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Q&A: Tummy time on a pillow?

written by Sarah Barnaby on 05/31/2023

Question from a mother of a 4-month-old: Someone told me that it’s good to put babies on top of pillows (on the floor) so they can get perspective and help them develop. I am a bit hesitant but wanted to hear your thoughts on this.

Our response: Thanks for asking for our perspective – we’re happy to share our thoughts on the topic!

In short, we’re not huge fans of the practice of using pillows when positioning babies prone (on their belly). We don’t agree with what seem to be the reasons behind it – particularly focussing on strengthening muscles … Read more

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Baby Ball: A Responsive Container

This is the second of four in a series of companion articles and recorded zoom sessions. It is part of our Preparing for Caring Project to build awareness and educate about the importance of handling skills in caring for a baby. Read more about how these ideas play out in practical suggestions.

Variations of “baby ball” Illustrations by Joanna Cotler

Having laid out our guiding principles of safety, orientation, comfort, bonding and curiosity in our previous post, we’ll now begin looking at the practical suggestions that follow from these principles.

At Babies Project, we often say that if we … Read more

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Unpacking “Be With”

(from Fall Fundraising 2019 Newsletter #1)

I have learned to get on the floor more with him.
I have learned to observe more and entertain less. 
I have learned to be present with him.
– Hedy, mother of River

We’re hoping to persuade you to support us by unpacking our tagline:

Starting with the first sentence, what do we mean by “be with”?

“Being with” is a counter-balance to “doing to” and “doing for.” It’s an alternative to already thinking we know what is needed, to going in with an intention of fixing or of making progress … Read more

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Developmental Movement: Elders & Babies

written by Sarah Barnaby on 10/08/2019

At Babies Project, we offer developmental movement education for “babies of all ages.” What do we mean by this?

We have a common personal history. We were all once babies. (We could also go further back and say that we were also all once embryos, but we’ll stick to babies for now.)

Our earliest experiences as babies are still with us. This includes our process of learning to move in gravity and space, knowing where we are and orienting ourselves, and finding our way from birth to walking. This process has influenced our movement as adults: our patterns, preferences, … Read more

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Developmental Movement: On Track or Behind?

written by Sarah Barnaby on 07/16/2019

A good part of our work at Babies Project involves talking about developmental movement: what it is and why it’s important. Very often, the topic comes up in our discussions with parents and caregivers who bring their babies (and their questions) to Babies Project:

- “Is my baby on track?”
- “Are they behind?”
- “Should we be concerned?”

Developmental movement refers to the way a baby learns to move, from birth to walking. At Babies Project, we believe that a baby’s developmental process takes priority over the speed of their progress*. This means that a baby who isn’t “on track” according to … Read more

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Agency & Emergence

“Things are always changing, and we have agency in that change.”– Rebecca Solnit

“Developmental change is not planned but arises within a context as the product of multiple, developing elements.”– Esther Thelen

Agency is the first of our core values, and we come back to it again and again. It encapsulates many of our ideas, underlies our principles, and guides our teaching.

As we define it, agency is the ability to make choices, to have an impact, and learn from experience. We do not think agency is the same as autonomy. Rather, agency is relational, interdependent and participatory.… Read more

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Our Vision, Mission and Values

Our Vision

To create a world where babies and adults of all ages get the touch, support and movement they need to thrive.

Our Mission

To nurture resilience, healthy interdependence and connection by educating about touch, handling and movement.

We serve babies of all ages: infants, toddlers, parents, caregivers, adults and elders.

We do this by using principles of Body-Mind Centering to support each person’s developmental process of learning, exploration, change and growth. We offer classes and workshops, training for professional caregivers, and writings about our ideas and work.

Our Values

Our core values are AGENCY, COMFORT, CURIOSITY … Read more

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