Freedom of Movement
In my last post, I talked about the Montessori floor bed. Part of the reasoning behind a floor bed is to give the child freedom of movement, allowing him the independence to get in and out of bed. For the same reason, Montessorians try to avoid restricting the child’s movement in other ways as well. We try not to have the child in any sort of seat or confined space which he cannot get out of when he chooses. This means no playpens, no Bumbo chairs, no bouncy seats. From birth, we tried whenever possible to have Calvin on the floor so that he was free to move his arms, legs, and head around. One week old Calvin on his Topponcino, placed on his movement mat next to a mirror. Here he is looking at his Munari mobile. Of course, there are situations in which we must confine our child. In the car, for instance, a car seat to keep a child safe is obviously important. However, we chose a car seat that is permanently in the car rather than one that can pop out of a base...