In the upheaval of moving for the past few weeks, we found ourselves eating without our usual furniture. The best thing we could dig up for D1 was a stool in front of an overturned box. Not the safest or most comfortable place for a 18-month-old to eat tomato soup or refried beans, but it was what we had.
It turns out that she loved it. And it finally motivated us to take action on a Montessori idea that I had long thought sounded nice but just hadn't got around to following--getting her a table her own size for eating and any other table-like projects. The cost had seemed prohibitive, but once we made up our minds to it, I found a suitable low shelf for only $10 at the grocery store across the street.
Now she can set her own table (we also now have a low cupboard where we put all the dishes, which are glass but fairly sturdy), seat herself, and clear her own dishes. Amazingly, she's neater with her eating; perhaps it helps now that she can see what happens to food that drops and put it in the garbage herself. She's not Emily Post yet, but there has been a noticeable improvement.
A key idea in the Montessori philosophy is--to use a more modern term--feedback. Children should be given chairs that can tip over, dishes that can break, pants that feel wet, and so forth, so that they can see the real-world consequences of their actions and correct them accordingly.
Modern baby-rearing goes all the opposite way. We keep babies in contraptions that distort their natural movements, in diapers that never feel wet, sipping from cups that can never spill, for our own convenience. To keep their senses busy, we substitute for real life toys that flash and beep arbitrarily.
I'm not quite ready to make hasty generalizations as to what the consequences of this artificial reality might be, but consider that the cause and effect the baby encounters is the very first step in thinking. If I do X, then Y happens. The things his senses encounter go to developing their sensitivity. Just as he is learning to distinguish the sounds of his native language better than all other sounds, he learns to control his movements and analyze the world based on what he sees and touches. If those things do not present a true picture of reality, how can he not be hindered in his learning? | 