ABOUT
Kia ora, I’m Dagmar.
Guardian of children’s spirit and supporter of parents wellbeing.
Do you want to learn about the unique development of your child and how heart-centred and respectful care can help you create a partnership that will last a lifetime?
I teach small group courses in my home and garden in sunny Marlborough, New Zealand and care about making personal connections with every one of my clients to help navigate individual challenges and changes. Let me help make your parenthood more joyful.
Soon-to-be-parent, just had your baby, parent of a toddler or even school aged children?
Let’s work together!
Engaging, easy to understand and delivered in bite-sized pieces so you get the best out of your learning, that’s what you’ll get at my courses.
We always start the session with a treasured ritual of homemade baking and a cup of tea, as a time to connect with each other and as a buffer if you’re running late (because sh*t happens!).
Since I was young, I’ve had an affinity with children which naturally led to a closeness to parents. Six years ago I started working as a nanny for my goddaughter and we attended a respectful parenting course. It showed me the importance of the first three years of a child's life and how respectful care creates a partnership between parent (or carer in my case!) and child by working with the child's natural unfolding. These were Pennie Brownlee’s ‘Dance with Me in the Heart’ classes, which are based on the teachings of Dr Emmi Pikler from The Pikler Institute.
What I learned at the courses made such an impact on me and the next two years of daily child-raising challenges, which you might be familiar with, and the overwhelming feeling of “What the heck am I doing?!”. So when I was deciding what the next step was going to be in my career, I chose to undergo the training to teach the same respectful parenting courses that had helped me so much.
Since 2016 I have been teaching the Baby and Toddler Courses, while also working as a nanny for a handful of local families, many of them appear in the photos throughout this website. The first few years of teaching I had an extremely supportive mentor who gave me the framework for running successful classes I still use today. Along the way I also became a Certified Infant Massage Instructor and started running outdoor play groups, all of which is now my very fulfilling full time work and play.
Outside of my work, I play by creating food, sewing, spending time outdoors, a little bit of acting and practising yoga.
My Training
Heart Dancing for Parent-Infant Class Facilitators 2016
Heart Dancing for Parent-Toddler Class Facilitators 2017
Certified Infant Massage Instructor Training 2018
Dance with me in the Heart • Level One 2016
Dance with me in the Heart • Level Two 2016
What is Respectful Care?
Respectful care acknowledges that everyone is unique, so it is not prescriptive. By taking the principles of respectful care, both child and parent can find a way that works for them.
For me, it’s honouring that all children are sentient human beings, whole and complete in their design (don’t need fixing!) and will unfold in their own time, and are therefore deserving of our respect and tender care.
When we match our care to their biological motor, brain and emotional development as best we can, instead of working against them, we are in the perfect position for our child to build trust in us and create a secure attachment.
The latest brain research is now able to confirm the effect of this kind of care on the developing brain and the long term outcomes. The courses I teach are created by Pennie Brownlee and based on the teachings of Dr Emmi Pikler.
“It’s not about technique but who we are with ourselves.”
- Dr. Emmi Pikler