The Absorbent Mind

“The greatness of the human personality begins at the hour of birth.” - Maria Montessori

Dr Maria Montessori felt that the most significant period of a child's life is from birth to six years old. This is a particularly sensitive time as the physical and psychological aspects of growth here will shape and mould their entire life.

Montessori felt this was so important that she wrote an entire book about it, called "The Absorbent Mind."

During the first six years of a child's life, a child will be learning and absorbing motor co-ordination, language, social skills, and work habits - skills of course that will be affecting the entirety of their life going forward!

And what's also crucial to remember during this time is that children will be absorbing this information with little to no mental effort. This will be most acute during the first three years, and then between 3 and 6, this is when children are more conscious about the information they're absorbing.

Thinking about this information can feel quite intense. So what can we do as parents during this pivotal time of a child's life? We can provide safe, nurturing, and encouraging spaces, both physically and emotionally, so that our little ones can best acquire these life long skills. We can nurture a child's absorbent mind by giving them rich environments to explore, take care of their physical wellbeing, and promote their independence too.

This is a very quick rundown of the aborsbent mind theory from Montessori, but what do you think? Is there anything that you recognise in the behaviour of your little ones?