The Minding the Baby Approach
January 24, 2024This brief animated video provides an overview of the reflective parenting approach embedded within the Minding the BabyTM intervention and training. For more information, visit: http://www.mtb.yale.edu
Transcript
- 00:03Parents are often overwhelmed
- 00:04by the demands of child rearing.
- 00:06The minding the baby approach
- 00:08helps them meet the challenge
- 00:10by being more reflective.
- 00:11Generally speaking, we get along
- 00:13better with the people around us
- 00:15when we try to understand them.
- 00:17That is especially true for parents.
- 00:19So when a
- 00:20baby cries, whether the parent
- 00:22should rock feed or put the
- 00:24baby down for a nap depends on
- 00:26why they are crying. Do they
- 00:28need comfort? Are they hungry?
- 00:30Are they tired and fussy?
- 00:32Asking these simple questions
- 00:34requires the parent to imagine what
- 00:36the baby might need or feel or want,
- 00:39and to test various possibilities.
- 00:42We call this being reflective,
- 00:43trying to understand the feelings, needs,
- 00:45and thoughts that cause behavior.
- 00:47Ideally, we do this all the
- 00:49time because we are curious and
- 00:51interested in what's going on in
- 00:53the minds of those dear to us.
- 00:55However many parents find this difficult,
- 00:58feelings and thoughts can
- 00:59be scary or disruptive.
- 01:01And so parents want to avoid them.
- 01:03Instead, they focus on stopping or
- 01:05correcting the behavior without
- 01:07wondering what the baby is telling them.
- 01:10With the MTB approach,
- 01:11parents feel calm enough and safe
- 01:13enough to ask why to think about what
- 01:14their child or themselves are feeling,
- 01:16so they can respond in a way that
- 01:18will help the child feel better
- 01:20and help them feel better too.