freedom with in limits – Truly Montessori

“Seeing the world through the eyes of a child is the purest joy that anyone can experience. “
Constance Zimmer

Children are meant to explore and learn from their environment. Once they start walking, they are meant to walk to refine their gross motor skills and experiment with their body in a safe environment.

In our modern world, we are consistently dependent on vehicles and gadgets to make our lives easier. Although, those are all wonderful inventions they also make us more dependent. Children are constantly being transferred in strollers and car seats hindering their natural growth and development. Child’s inner need to move and explore is obstructed by modern equipment like strollers.

“Surely, in our modern world, loving parents do not obstruct an infant’s positive moves to develop an independent and fully functioning body. Unfortunately, we do so everyday. Our present commercialization of childhood contributes to these obstacles in the infant’s path as she works to develop her body for full use and independent movement. We have manufactured every manner of conveyance and confinement for young children…some of these items were developed for safety, others for the convenience of adults, and still others from the false idea of what promotes meaningful skill development in children.”
Montessori From the Start

Benefits of Toddler Led Walks

Promotes independence & freedom
Lets your child discover new things in the environment
Child feels equal and contributing mem
ber of the family when given the choice of walking together

Tips to Promote Safety During Toddler Led Walks

Safety is the most important aspect of child led walks. It is important to let our children know about the safe behavior and model those safe behavior during our walks.

How to Avoid Power Struggles

It is important to be consistent and clear about ground rules during child led walks.

-Give children positive choices to let them feel empowered and make a decision.

-Follow through by modeling what you say

-Avoid saying simply “No” without any explanation or offering an alternative.

Examples of Choices:

“I see a car approaching on our road, would you like to hold my hand or daddy’s hand?
“I would like you to do my hand so we can make sure we are both safe. Would you like to hold my right hand or left hand?”
“I can see that you love collecting things. How about we place them in this basket and when it is full, we know to stop gathering more?”
“I love that you are using your listening ears and the way you stopped when I asked you to. Could you also show me your walking feet?”

When we approach our children with respect and stop being a dictator, we form a relationship of mutual understanding, love, and respect. Children want to do the right thing only if we understand that parenthood isn’t about raising a “mini me” but it is about honoring our child’s unique self and seeing our children as humans first.

At the end, always remember to enjoy the present moment with your child and have some fun along the way!

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