IDME – 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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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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Our Principles

We believe:

Babies come in as whole people, not as blank slates. Babies are fully and intensely immersed in becoming themselves – always whole, and always changing.

A baby’s experience is real and valid, though it might not be comprehensible to us. We can offer comfort without denying their experience, or our own. We can acknowledge and validate their feelings and emotions while also saying “no” to particular behavior.

Babies learn best when they’re led by their curiosity – which comes from a sense of safety and comfort. We are a baby’s environment when we hold and handle them, and … Read more

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Our Values (the long form)

At Babies Project, the principles we teach, play, facilitate, explore and live from arise from our core values of AGENCY, COMFORT, CURIOSITY and MOVEMENT. We believe these values are embedded in developmental movement, and they can guide us to be more responsible, resilient, interdependent, self-regulating and relational.

How do we raise children (of all genders) to respect themselves and others?
How can we model a way of being in the world that encourages self-awareness and awareness of others?
As caregivers, how can we re-pattern what we were taught and no longer value, and find a different way

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Developmental Movement for Babies & Toddlers: A Body-Mind Centering® Approach

The study of developmental movement is the study of how we learn to move in our first years of life. In Body-Mind Centering®, we specifically study the basic movement patterns, reflexive pathways and integration of our senses, as well as the progressive layering of rhythms, experiences and relationships that help an infant find a sense of self, integration and ease.

All of the sessions we offer for babies and toddlers are ‘infant-centered’ and ‘baby-led.’ This means that we engage with babies at their own level of perceptual awareness, and respect their rhythms of attention and rest.

We … Read more

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About IDME

All of our classes for caregivers and their babies are taught by IDMEs (Infant Developmental Movement Educators) trained and certified by the School for Body-Mind Centering. IDME training includes four core developmental movement courses in addition to two 10-day modules on working with infants. This training takes place over several years and includes over 500 hours of course work, observations and sessions.

We meet each baby at their own level, and help parents and caregivers understand what kind and amount of stimulus and support is appropriate and helpful at each stage of development.

We teach parents and caregivers the skills they … Read more

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Babies – Guidelines for Observers

We ask people who come to observe our Babies! sessions at Babies Project to follow these guidelines.

You are welcome to come and go. You do not have to be present for the whole class.
The first time you come to Babies! as an observer, please plan to arrive as close to the start time as possible so we have time to help orient you.
Feel free to take notes and/or draw.
No cell phones and no photos in the room.
The role of observers is to be an outer circle of support for the process going on between the babies, caregivers

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Toddlers – Guidelines for Caregivers

We ask caregivers who come to Babies Project with toddlers to follow these guidelines.

Transitions can be challenging for toddlers (of all ages).
- We encourage you to respect their timing about entering the room, choosing to play, and choosing to return to you for orientation, comfort, or cuddles.
We encourage you to appreciate that toddlers are fully and intensely immersed in becoming themselves.
- We believe that allowing each child to tell their own story and make their own meaning supports their sense of agency.
- We encourage you to comment on your child’s (and other children’s) actions in non-deterministic, non-judgmental ways,

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Babies – Guidelines for Caregivers

We ask caregivers who come to Babies Project with babies to follow these guidelines.

You are welcome to come and go anytime. You do not need to be present for the whole class.
Please, no cell phones and no photos in the room.
Infant Developmental Movement Educators (IDMEs) will be moving around the room to be with different age groups and in different areas of the room.
- Feel free to listen in on what the IDMEs are sharing with other caregivers — and ask questions!
- The IDMEs have expertise in developmental movement from birth to walking for the normal developmental

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