Children are one of life’s greatest gifts—but raising caring, happy children in this modern world can be a challenge to any parent.
Our connection with our children is formed be for birth, and lasts for our entire lives. Over the years, we are there beside them as they learn to smile, crawl, speak their first words, take their first steps, and together we mark the milestones in their journey toward adulthood.
Life with children is not always easy. Along with the hugs and cuddles, we share their sleepless nights, the times when they get sick, their temper tantrums and fights with siblings, and the many other challenges of being a parent. As they get older it seems that our children come to know us better than we know ourselves. They learn what buttons to push to make us aggravated, and how they can best manipulate us into giving in on something that they want. There are times when we wish our children came with a parenting manual. It is not unusual for parents to be unsure about how to raise nice kids in this modern world. All around, our children see and hear other children talking back to their parents, fussing on the playground, and saying unkind things to one another. Parenting advice abounds, but much of it doesn’t seem to work that well. This is in part
because it tends to offer a cookbook approach with detailed suggestions about what to do in specific situations, rather than a comprehensive, systematic approach to parenting.
A different approach
My life has been touched deeply by the work of a brilliant woman: Maria Montessori. As a child, I went to a wonderful school that was inspired by her work, and as an adult I have had the privilege to teach in and later lead that same school for 25 years. Her message, and the insights and practical strategies that she taught, have influenced hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of parents and children around the world. The Montessori approach is best known in the schools that bear her name, but it is equally useful and easy to adopt in your home. Montessori’s principles for working with children are based on a holistic approach that begins at birth (or as young as possible) and builds over the
years as children become more mature. Understood correctly, it has the advantage of working very well with a wide range of children. It is an entire system that has been tested over the past 100 years and can be implemented as a whole or in part. Try it— you should find that it works for you, too. To do this, you don’t need to become a Montessori teacher, nor is there a need to create a Montessori school in your home. But by implementing as many of the suggestions in this book as you can into your home and your family’s life, I believe that you will find yourself becoming more effective as a parent, and more able to build a home filled with warmth, love, kindness, and respect.