Today, parents increasingly trust their children, starting from infancy, to educational and care settings. In these reception spaces, professional educators are called to do something both familiar and at the same time different: to care for, within the framework of a community, infants and small children who are not their own. For this purpose, they can draw inspiration from the philosophical and ethical approach of pioneering Emmi Pikler – the Pikler approach or Pikler pedagogy – and apply its principles.

The principles of Emmi Pikler – free movement, spontaneous action, the reference educator who guarantees stability and continuity, observation as an educational tool, the teamwork of all involved (educators, parents, interdisciplinary teams) with individualized attention to each child, etc. – are perfectly aligned with the latest knowledge about infant development.

This collective work describes in detail the aspects and application of the Pikler approach, which aims to provide every child, given the absence of their parents, with a sufficient sense of security so that they enjoy spending their days in a structure and benefit from what is available to them. With appropriate practices and the right attitude from the adult, the child will grow, discover, and build themselves, learning how to explore the world and interact with others...