Montessori ?

[Mumof1xxb]

What’s everyone’s views on this!

I feel I like some of the things they encourage but sometimes I let my son watch Miss Rachel while I do dishes etc so I don’t feel it’s very Montessori of me to do that lol

But I feel bad and like I should send him to a. Montessori nursery?? Is it just social media making me feel that it’s Montessori or you’re not a good parent lol

My only knowledge comes from Bluey.

I think it depends on the individual school. DS went to one and it was quite sweet really. It wasn’t weird and wonderful and he had a good time.

Yes social media is making you feel like a crap parent.

@Reluctantadult bluey? What do you mean? Ive seen them all many times .... What's the connection?

I read somewhere or other that the writer of Bluey is a montessori chap... As I type I wonder do I mean Bing... I mean Banjo, Chilli and Flop are certainly all parenting icons!

The Montessori approach is great, but use it so that it fits in with your life, take the elements that work for you and use those. Don't get caught up in social media nonsense.

If you want to send your child to nursery, a Montessori one can be a good choice, but as with all nurseries it will depend entirely on the staff at that particular nursery, so check it out like you would any other form of childcare.

I've heard mixed things from Montessori schools (there's quite a few near me!) - most parents seem to say they're great, but I have a few friends who themselves went to a Montessori school and HATED it. Whilst I think there are elements of it I personally like and take from, I wouldn't go the whole hog and go down the Montessori school or nursery route

🤣🤣🤣

Our nursery said they were Montessori, but they definitely are not now and not sure they ever were ( a big chain.) In fact they're shite in terms of teaching them anything but my nearly four year old seems to be happy and safe so I'll worry about the rest when he's at school. I don't think it would massively affect my decision making, i just wanted my kids to go to nursery without being upset seeing as I had a full day or work to do.

I don't think it has to be all or nothing. Ive certainly taken inspiration from things I've seen on social media that I wouldn't have thought to do otherwise. DD 18 months watches some tv, plays with some noisy plastic toys but also I include her in preparing dinner with appropriately sized utensils, Involve her in helping clear up if she spills, have things on her level to access (shoes, coat, hat) that sort of stuff.

Any nursery can call themselves Montessori in their approach I think but they might not be ACTUALLY Montessori. I have dealt with a few in my nannying career with different charges. A couple were great! One was awful. They would ‘invite’ the children to tidy up but if they didn’t want to ‘help their friends’ that was the end of it. I can’t be doing with that. You make a mess, you bloody well help tidy it! I found them incredibly wishy washy in regards to boundaries and structure abd I didn’t care for it.

One was very focused on getting tiny children to cut up their own fruit 🤷🏻‍♀️

My own son doesn’t go to a Montessori, but I think they use a few of the concepts.

I went to a Montessori school. It was fine, but I left before middle school as I was very academic and my parents didn’t think they covered enough. Every nursery is Montessori in essence as all they do is learn through pay - cynical me just thinks it’s a word they use to charge £2-3k a month where I live!

I’ll add that the ‘good’ ones were very much an all-in-it-together approval regardless of age or ability. Everyone brought fruit to share, they all sat together for meals (no separate room for babies) and were very child led BUT also had boundaries and routines firmly in place.

Montessori is not trademarked, anyone can claim it. I had the unfortunate experience of being involved with one as the landlord, they were charlatans

My son went to Montesorri primary school. He enjoyed it and did really well there.

I think lots of parents probably already practice certain elements of Montessori without even realising or did it before it became popular on social media etc

My parents always got my siblings and I involved in things like cooking, baking, tidying up and taking our clothes to the washing machine etc. We didn’t have tonnes of toys out, mum would instead leave just a few things for us to play with (mostly so there was limited mess!) and we spent a lot of time outdoors building things, making dens, etc
My parents had no clue about Montessori btw, it was just their parenting style & felt natural to them.

I think elements of it are great but there’s other things I don’t like or agree with - take it with a pinch of salt and don’t feel bad about what you see on social media. You are just seeing snap shots.

Just do what you feel comfortable with - if you and dc are happy, you are doing a good job. Abit of screen time and fairy tales never hurt anyone.