The Montessori Method and Gentle Parenting

You make parenting choices every day, whether you're consciously imitating some of the approaches your own parents took or trying to avoid them. Montessori childhood education is all about fostering natural abilities and letting kids learn at their own pace. Gentle parenting at home can play a role in that. Learn more about this approach and how it can fit with the Montessori method as a whole.

How Montessori Education and Gentle Parenting Overlap

The gentle parenting approach encourages a partnership between parent and child. You share a goal of making choices based on internal willingness rather than external pressures. For example, you might explain why your child needs to stay within sight while playing at the park — for safety — rather than instructing them to stay close because you said so. Empathy, respect and understanding are hallmarks of this approach to parenting.

Gentle parenting and the Montessori method share some common ground in this way. Both encourage the child to take responsibility for themselves and their actions.

What Are the Differences Between Montessori and Gentle Parenting?

The Montessori method and gentle parenting both position adults as guides for children rather than authoritative figures. Still, there are some differences between the two. The main distinction is that the Montessori approach is a renowned educational philosophy with a larger focus.

For the most part, Montessori education relies on the child to figure things out for themselves with a little guidance from parents and trusted adults. In contrast, gentle parenting relies on adults to clearly explain the reason something is positive or negative to children.

Parenting in a Montessori Method

Montessori childhood education focuses on development, which starts at home. Montessori parenting methods might look like gentle parenting in a few key ways:

  • Encouraging independence: Look for age-appropriate opportunities to foster autonomy. For example, you might let a toddler drink from a cup and help them clean up any spills as they learn.
  • Offering controlled choices: Giving your child an opportunity to choose between two snacks or two books to read shows you value their input. It also helps them build confidence in their decision-making.
  • Setting expectations and limits: Montessori parenting methods don't mean saying yes to everything. Ensuring children understand cause and effect is key — for example, you might set an expectation that your child avoids splashing in the bath. If they splash water on the floor, it will be unsafe to keep playing, and the bath will end.

A Montessori Private School That Fosters Growth

If there's a Montessori private school in your area, enrolling your child is an ideal way to support their growth and learning outside of the home. Sapientia Montessori School is an authentic Montessori school in Cedar Park, Texas. The admissions process starts with a tour, so schedule a visit to see how you can inspire limitless potential in your little one.