Maria Montessori, emotions, childhood

In this double presentation I’m going to talk about two related topics on infancy: -one is Maria Montessori -one is the emotions world and childhood. Both topics are interconnected since they are basis for a correct baby and child development. (a) Maria Montessori was an Italian medical doctor who then got closer to infancy world since she saw that only a medical doctor could help in discovering such topics, in the right way. She studied psychology and also pedagogical sciences, but it was through direct observation that she could interpret and derive information about infancy and childhood. Baby needs to experiment directly, to experience materials, shapes, colors so to learn how the world is. Adults have to be there, but they should only guide baby, not give orders or real rules. Baby and child have great potentialities, they learn by themselves, helped by parents and teachers, and from other infants. All environment should be at child-measure, with smaller tables, beds, chairs, and in this way the child becomes the protagonist of the learning process, with easier approaches to toys and books. What Maria Montessori focuses on is the “absorbent mind”: this means that child brain is very plastic and that infants learn a lot, even more from our examples than from our words. (b) For this reason we should also insist on emotions, since only a child educated to emotions recognition and expression can be happy and have a proper adequate development. The main principal emotions are six: -happiness -sadness -fear -angriness -disgust -surprise. Babies start feeling emotions since very young: it is a way to express instincts related to food, to people, to environment. Children live prevalence of some or some other emotions even according to age: it is typical to see one of them prevaling, as in the age of 2-3 when child starts having proper ways of expressing and of autonomize from parents. We could also exercise emotions expressions with sort of mindfulness practices, using also peluches and favorite toys. So we can get ideas from the teachings of Maria Montessori and some basic suggestions by emotions world in order to help our babys and children being and feeling better, so helping them growing up good and becoming happier adults.

Author(s): Ssa Dora Dragoni Divrak

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