The Montessori Toddler

I’m an early childhood educator so I have knowledge regarding child development and working with infants and toddlers. I worked at a Montessori for 5 months in 2019 and I wished I read this book while I worked there! Everything makes more sense after reading this! I felt the educators were really rigid in their ways and overall felt that the center was not the right fit for me. I like some aspects of the philosophy such as hands on learning, following the interests of the child, and encouraging the independence of the child. My baby is almost 9 months old, and I aim to use a Montessori and STEM inspired approach with her. I want to provide her a rich background of practical life skills and language (through books mainly as replicas get too expensive). Not everything has to be implemented from the book. Depending on the layout of your home, I know that not everyone can afford excessive shelving and high quality Montessori toys. However, I do like the tips that Davies provides (open ended toys, focusing on the process not product, aim to beautify your space, etc) but these are pretty standard of the Montessori philosophy. I agree with another reviewer who said that you should practice whatever tips that may work in your home or lifestyle. This is just a resource and not an absolute way to raise your children. Overall, I highly recommend this book! It’s engaging, easy to follow, has beautiful pictures, and simply inspires you to practice the Montessori philosophy at home.

Such an incredible read! What started off as a random audio book I bought on @audible ended up making its way to my book collection where I am constantly referencing and learning from! Simone Davies talks about the history and science behind Montessori and how to create a more independent environment for your toddler. The first few chapters gives you an opportunity to see things from their perspective and how to make things accessible for them. Towards the end, she gives visual examples on how to set up an independent toddler environment. I grew up with immigrant parents that were by far “gentle parents” and if you can relate, you understand how hard it is to unlearn unhealthy behaviors your parents taught you while trying to “discipline” you. I am by far a perfect parent. I loose my cool and sometimes have to be honest and real with myself about it. This book has truly been and blessing in disguise and I wish I had know about it when I had my first born. My husband and I have come a long way from where we started in our prenatal journey and this is just another amazing resource we have found along the way 🤍 Side note: I expect a lot out of my kids even when they didn’t even know how to crawl. It maybe common sense for some to know when children have certain milestones but I didn’t know anything. This book has helped me understand my child and I will continue to use it even as they grow!

This is the best parenting book I've read so far. It's not only a great one-time read, but it's used as a sort of reference book in my home whenever I'm looking for ideas on activities to do with my toddler or thoughts on how to handle various aspects of toddler development. And as a plus, it's beautifully designed and has strong, thick pages, which is very helpful when my toddler grabs it! This book offers straightforward, efficient, and well-organized information about how to apply Montessori principles to toddler life, how to guide your own thoughts on parenting a toddler, and how to involve your toddler in daily life in a way that minimizes stress for both you and them. I read some of the other reviews, a few of which mention that the book's recommendations are out of reach for some families due to income, space, or ability, and I can understand how that could be felt when reading it, because it includes imagery of beautiful (and often expensive) high-quality wooden toys, discusses buying dedicated kid-sized furniture to be set up in a serene space of their own, and invites you to give your toddler difficult tasks really early on. But, if you look to this book as suggestions and guidelines on the "complete" way to do Montessori-style playtime/kid space design/etc, then there is nothing elitist about it. This book gives the "ideal-situation" suggestions, but every kid and parent is different, so take what you like and leave what you don't. This book actually tells you to look outside the box of conventional consumerist-style parenting, to find inexpensive or natural elements or items you already own as you work with your kid's development. Of course we don't all have the time, money, or space to do the more specific suggestions perfectly all the time, but we can find helpful advice for how to slowly incorporate these principles into our kids' lives. Take as much of it as you want and use it as a guide, do Montessori imperfectly or as much as you want to, and this book will help you immensely along the way. I'm very grateful I came across it.

The Montessori Toddler is an absolute gem for parents looking to implement Montessori principles at home. The book is well-written, easy to follow, and packed with practical tips for raising a curious, independent, and responsible child. It provides clear guidance on creating a child-friendly environment and nurturing their natural desire to learn. I’ve noticed a positive change in how my toddler interacts and explores since applying the advice. Highly recommend this book to any parent eager to support their child’s growth and development!

I guess it’s a good book but doesn’t work for my parenting style.

Ich wünschte, ich hätte das Buch schon gehabt, als mein erstes Kind klein war! Eigentlich habe ich es nur als Anregung für die Montessori-gerechte Gestaltung der Wohnung und zum Finden von Spielanregungen/ Settings für Kind 2 gekauft. Dann war ich allerdings überrascht wie allumfassend das Thema „Leben mit Kleinkind“ aufgegriffen und dargestellt wird. Man erhält sowohl die gesuchten Spielanregungen als auch Tipps im Umgang mit Wutanfällen, zur besseren Einübung der täglichen Routine mit Kleinkind, zum Schlafen, Essen, zu wertschätzender Erziehung usw. Zusätzlich gibt es am Ende jedes Kapitels immer eine kurze und prägnante Gesamtübersicht. Die Tipps und Hinweise sind meist sofort umsetzbar. Das Kind wird wertschätzend, aber trotzdem mit der nötigen liebevollen Konsequenz behandelt. Ein allumfassendes Gesamtwerk zu Kleinkindern finde ich. Es sollte in keiner Eltern-Bibliothek fehlen. Die englische Sprache ist leicht verständlich und das Buch ist toll illustriert und übersichtlich gestaltet. 5 Sterne!!! Das Buch gibt es seit März 2020 auch auf Deutsch: "Montessori für Eltern: Wie Kleinkinder achtsam und selbstständig aufwachsen."

Very useful resource, easy read and great quality!

Great ideas and concise! I love that you can pick page/topic and find something useful to read about.

Beautifully written, well summarised know it all about setting Montessorie environment