Customer Reviews
Practical ideas to respect the innate development of the child - By: Ms. R. Freedman, 10 Nov 2006 
As an AMI trained Montessori teacher, I thought this book was fantastic! It covers the basic principles of Dr Montessori's work & gives excellent advice on helping your child develop to his or her full potential.
I had a friend with a 15 month old boy who had started banging his head on the floor & she could not work out what was wrong with him! I was reading this book at the time & I told her that the child of around this age is trying to challenge himself to use his new-found strengthin his arm muscles as well as his new skillin standing steadily.
I asked her what was his favourite thing to do at the moment & she said he kept going over to their fireplace & trying to pick up a heavy, beautifully-carved, stone horse. She kept taking the horse from him & picking him up & moving him away from the fireplace because, quite rightly, she did not want him playingin a fireplace!
I suggested that he had merely found an excellent challenge for himselfin the horse & that maybe he was not interestedin the fireplace at all. She moved the horse to a different placein the room & her little boy did not go back to the fireplace but to the horse & when she left him to try & pick it up, without interfering, he did it & the happiness & sense of self achievement that shone out of him was wonderful!
It had been very difficult for her not to interrupt his efforts & pick up the horse for him, to 'help' him, but she had held herself back & her son had shown her the fundamental human spirit - that of self development & the innate drive towards challenge & progress & 'work' with a purpose (his work at that time was to develop his muscle strength & balance while carrying a heavy object, now that he could stand of his own accord).
This book focuses on allowing your child to be a valuable member of his family & environment through involving himin practical activities & letting him play or work or whatever we call it, without constant interruption - observing his efforts & respecting them & his natural development.
The parent needs to withdraw & provide only what help is necessary - tiny bits, rather than doing everything for the child - doing 'for' the child is not help - helping the child to do it 'for himself' is the way forward. Show your child then let him repeat it for himself, to make it his own. We cannot walk for the child or eat for the child - why do we try to do practically everything else for the child?
We must respect the child's task of becoming a human being adapted to his or her time, place, culture & country. The child is born with nothing & must create everything within himself. We must respect & help him to achieve this to the best of his abilities, observing to see what he is interestedin at any one time & trying to provide useful help & activities for his development.
Stiff writing style and rather sterile philosophy - By: , 03 Feb 2005 
This book is poorly organized, woodenly written, & does not offer easy-to-use guidelines for daily practice of Montessori principles.
Having just started to investigate Montessori, I am put off by the strict & rather uptight quality of some of the ideas herein, e.g. "Have books for the child under six years old that are based on reality, rather than fantasy. The young child needs to explore the real world before he can appreciate a fantasy world created by adults...where rabbits talk & wear clothes & go to school...Never mix books with toys...We teach children from the beginning to handle books with care, turning the pages from the top."
They claim that,in the 1950's, ninety-two percent of babies were toilet trained by the age of 18 months -- a figure they do not back up with any data & which sounds suspiciously like wishful thinking to me. (Afterall, a "good" baby was a toilet-trained baby.)
Some of their ideas for toys & activities rang true to me, but many of the toys they recommend can only be purchased from speciality retailers for quite high prices ($50 & up for a single wooden toy). A few examples of toys you can make are given -- good, for the parent who has the time.
I might be missing something about the Montessori philosophy, but the way this book describes it, it sounds very regimented & as if quiet obedience & self-sufficiency are the primary qualities to be taught & valuedin a child. If anyone can recommend a book that better explains Montessori, I welcome your suggestion.
Also: I caught one obvious errorin the forward: the "popular song from the 60s" was called "Mr. Big Stuff (Who Do You Think You Are)" -- NOT "Mr. Mixed Up." An ironic mistake...?
Very disappointing - By: , 31 Dec 2004 
I worked as a Montessori teaching assistant many years ago & was already familiar with her ideas, so when my own daughter was born I was eager to put them into practice. I read a review of this book & bought it but although it has a few good suggestions, overall it was of very little use. Though the book is intended for use from birth to age 3, the focus is overwhelmingly on babyhood. If your child is already walking & you didn't use the Montessori child-bed, weaning chair, weaning table, etc, much of this book will be pointless. If you do not have the resources to buy the equipment suggested, this book will also not be of much use, because it rarely suggests inexpensive or homemade alternatives.
I also strongly object to some of the authors' suggestionsin the chapter entitled "Personal Care". They recommend intensive toilet training beginning at 12-15 months, & weaning from breastfeeding at 9 months, arguing that this will foster the child's feelings of independence. Both of these suggestions are contrary to the latest advice given by childcare experts. Few children show any signs of being ready for toilet training at such a young age -- most are still learning to walk, or have recently learned to do so, & for the parent to begin intensive toilet training at this time interferes with the child's natural instincts to be on the move. Furthermore it is much easier & faster to toilet train when the child is actually ready to do so, whichin the vast majority of cases is not before the age of two.
The authors' advice to wean from the breast at 9 months is contrary to that of the American Association of Pediatrics, which recommends that breastmilk be the primary source of nutrition for all of the first year. This advice can also be dangerous. On the advice of a (misguided) health professional, I limited my own child's breastfeeds when he was 9 months old to 3 times per day for a period of several weeks, which resultedin a rapid & frightening weight loss, & frequent night wakings due to hunger. The authors actually state that if your child is showing no signs of being ready for weaning, you should go ahead & wean him anyway, because you know best! This is completely contrary to the Montessori principles of respecting the child's natural intelligence.
Furthermore, I think there is too much emphasisin the book on the child learning to do things at an early age. They state that if you follow their principles, the child should be crawling by six months, walking by 10 or 11 months, talking by 14 months -- this seems to imply that Montessori education resultsin children who are superior simply because they can do things at an earlier age than other children.
There were only a few good suggestions for activities for toddlers, which do not merit buying the book. I am still looking for a better book which will enable me to put Montessori principles into practicein my home.
Helping babies to calmness and inner strength - By: Ng Wai Yin, 11 Aug 2003 This is the first Montessori book I read after hearing about it years ago. I expected to learn about the method, which I did, thanks to the book's clear writing & pragmatic choice of content. But quite unexpectedly, & more importantly so, it opens up a new horizonin my personal relation with children that is at once profound & practicable.
The Montessori method begins with acknowledging a child as a developing but incomplete individual. Being developing but incomplete, she needs helpin facilitation rather than educationin the conventional sense, which tends to be pre-packaged & indoctrinating. Being an individual, she is on a journey to adulthood that is her own, with an inner self to emerge & a will to grow. Her goal is a reflective person who knows her way & summons her will to walkin it. There is a properly spiritual dimension that appeals immediately to me. According to the authors who founded their own Montessori school over twenty years ago, "Montessori children" are known for their calmness & inner strength.
While the method normally applies to school-aged children, this book claims to be the first attempt to extend it to babies below threein the home context. I think the authors have succeededin piecing together a coherent & convincing picture, from years of experiencein the field, as well as their own families. (The second author isin fact daughter of the first who raised herin the Montessori manner.) The theory is well formulated & clearly presented, with detailed advice on practical matters such as helping babies to sleep, food, clothings, toilet, etc. that are derived from it. It therefore reads coherent & whole, unlike many other baby care books that tend to appear piecemeal & ad hoc.
This book is especially challenging to parentsin modern societies, who tend to distract their children from their individual missions with many toys & activities. It may not be far-fetched to speculate that it has helped cause the increasing problem of attention deficiency among children today. Whether it is or not, the Montessori method for babies & up should be its direct prevention.
