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The Montessori Toddler: A Parent's Guide to Raising a Curious and Responsible Human Being Paperback – Illustrated, March 19, 2019
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It’s time to change the way we see toddlers. Using the principles developed by the educator Dr. Maria Montessori, Simone Davies shows how to turn life with a “terrible two” into a mutually rich and rewarding time of curiosity, learning, respect, and discovery.
With hundreds of practical ideas for every aspect of living with a toddler, here are five principles for feeding your child’s natural curiosity, from “Trust in the child” to “Fostering a sense of wonder.” Step-by-step ways to cultivate daily routines with ease, like brushing teeth, toilet-training, dealing with siblings, losing the pacifier. Plus learn how to:
- Stay composed when your toddler is not and set limits with love and respect—without resorting to bribes or punishment
- Set up your home and get rid of the chaos
- Create Montessori activities that are just right for your one-to-three-year-old
- Raise an inquisitive learner who loves exploring the world around them
- See the world through your toddler’s eyes and be surprised and delighted by their perspective
- Be your child’s guide—and truly celebrate every stage
- Print length256 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherWorkman Publishing Company
- Publication dateMarch 19, 2019
- Dimensions6.6 x 1 x 9.25 inches
- ISBN-10152350689X
- ISBN-13978-1523506897
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From the brand
Raise Capable, Confident Kids
Based on principles created by Dr. Maria Montessori, this bestselling series shows how to be a mindful, attentive, and calm parent.
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What is Montessori all about?
The Montessori approach sees kids as naturally curious and capable and offers parents an intentional approach to everyday family life—from arranging your home to dealing with tantrums, picky eating, setting limits, encouraging independence, and more.
Is this only for kids in Montessori school?
This series helps bring Montessori into the home, no matter where your child goes to school.
Do I need all three books?
This series grows with your kids and it's never too late to start!
Baby (pregnancy–12 months old)
Toddler (1–3 years old)
Child (4-12 years old and beyond)
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About the Authors:
Simone Davies is an AMI (Association Montessori Internationale) Montessori teacher, as well as the author of The Montessori Notebook, the popular blog and Instagram where she gives tips, answers questions, and provides online workshops to parents around the world.
Junnifa Uzodike is an AMI-trained Montessori teacher and sits on the executive board of AMI. She runs a Montessori school in Abuja, Nigeria.
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| The Montessori Baby | The Montessori Child | |
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| Customer Reviews |
4.8 out of 5 stars
2,869
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4.4 out of 5 stars
88
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| Price | $12.99$12.99 | $12.70$12.70 |
| Drawing on principles developed by the educator Dr Maria Montessori, The Montessori Baby shows how to raise your baby from birth to age one with love, respect, insight, and a surprising sense of calm. | Drawing on principles developed by the educator Dr. Maria Montessori, this book offers guidance for parents of children ages 3 to 12 on how to encourage their child’s innate curiosity and independence through connection, collaboration, and joy. |
Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Review
“With every page chock-full of plans for how to make one’s home a haven for a youngster’s intellectual and emotional growth, this valuable manual fills a gap on a topic not as frequently addressed in the literature on toddler development.” —Library Journal
" This is a down-to-earth, accessible book that makes Montessori at home doable. She provides clear ideas for discipline and parenting, and it’s written in a friendly, parent-to-parent way." —Book Riot
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Workman Publishing Company; Illustrated edition (March 19, 2019)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 256 pages
- ISBN-10 : 152350689X
- ISBN-13 : 978-1523506897
- Item Weight : 5.6 ounces
- Dimensions : 6.6 x 1 x 9.25 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #3,753 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #10 in Parenting & Family Reference
- #16 in Homeschooling (Books)
- #26 in Baby & Toddler Parenting
- Customer Reviews:
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About the authors

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Simone Davies is the author of “The Montessori Toddler” and co-author of “The Montessori Baby” and “The Montessori Child” books, comprehensive guides to raising children in a Montessori way.
Simone is an AMI Montessori educator based in Amsterdam. She also has a popular blog, instagram and podcast “The Montessori Notebook” and is mother to two young adults.
Finding Montessori helped her so much when raising her own children (now young adults) and it’s now her passion to help other families introduce these ideas in their homes too. She was looking to find a way to be with her kids that wasn’t about bossing them about, threatening them and bribing them. Or giving them free rein either. And she wanted them to have a positive experience of school, not just to pass tests, but to love learning.
Simone currently runs parent-child Montessori classes in Amsterdam at her school Jacaranda Tree Montessori.
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the information in the book rich, practical, and helpful. They say the book is easy to understand, makes sense, and is simple without being simplistic. Readers describe it as a great resource for every parent, an excellent reference as their toddler ages, and a good reference as they progress developmentally. They appreciate the nice illustrations, good pictures, and gorgeous photography.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book a rich source of extremely practical suggestions and advice. They say it's helpful in guiding them on new ways of thinking about discipline. Readers also appreciate the wonderful principles and topics covered. They mention it'll be an excellent resource for implementing the Montessori method.
"...It’s also very easy to read and just something useful to have on hand.I totally recommend this book!" Read more
"...She gives such a great over-view of each topic!All in all, this book is excellent!..." Read more
"This book is an excellent resource for implementing the Montessori method in your toddler’s life...." Read more
"...Just scanning through it has a lot of topics and information and is going to be very informative...." Read more
Customers find the book easy to understand, practical, and makes sense. They appreciate the step-by-step explanations on how to set up and facilitate a Montessori-based home. Readers also appreciate the principles being well-described and well-organized. They are thrilled with the detailed information about how to setup your home in ways that are basic and easy to learn and follow.
"...This book offers straightforward, efficient, and well-organized information about how to apply Montessori principles to toddler life, how to guide..." Read more
"...It’s also very easy to read and just something useful to have on hand.I totally recommend this book!" Read more
"...Overall, I highly recommend this book! It’s engaging, easy to follow, has beautiful pictures, and simply inspires you to practice the Montessori..." Read more
"...all of the main points of Maria Montessori's philosophy in this easy to read guide...." Read more
Customers find the book a great resource for every parent. They say it's an excellent reference as their toddler ages and progresses developmentally. Readers mention it provides simple tips for the child's environment, disciplining, and dressing. They also say it helps them understand their child.
"This is the best parenting book I've read so far...." Read more
"...] This books is a great resource for every parent!..." Read more
"...What I wasn't expecting was all the incredible parenting advice that came with this book...." Read more
"Good to ready for new parents." Read more
Customers find the book's visual quality nice, with good pictures and resources throughout. They also appreciate the gorgeous photography and real photos. Readers mention the book is very descriptive and detailed, covering a lot of topics and giving real-life examples of how to approach different topics.
"...how that could be felt when reading it, because it includes imagery of beautiful (and often expensive) high-quality wooden toys, discusses buying..." Read more
"...Not to mention the gorgeous photography throughout.The author's charts in the back of the book are SO helpful!..." Read more
"...It’s engaging, easy to follow, has beautiful pictures, and simply inspires you to practice the Montessori philosophy at home." Read more
"...This author is very realistic in her approach to raising toddlers the Montessori way...." Read more
Customers say the book is worth every penny and a great buy.
"...Its very affordable and an excellent reference as your toddler ages and progresses developmentally. I highly recommend this book!!" Read more
"...Totally worth it! Don't think again, and buy it!" Read more
"...It was wet and had a strong scent. Disappointed. The pages of the book are saturated with it." Read more
"Amazing!!! This book is so worth every penny!!! I wish I would have read it sooner." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the sturdiness of the book. Some mention it has strong, thick pages, while others say it arrived dirty and bent, with stains on the cover and pages.
"...2 books in the same box were fine only this one with clearly visible dirty hand marks is what it resembles to me and then a tear on the binding...." Read more
"...And as a plus, it's beautifully designed and has strong, thick pages, which is very helpful when my toddler grabs it!..." Read more
"...There are stains on the cover and the pages." Read more
"Great book and contents, however it arrived covered in dirt that I was unable to clean off, and the cover bent in multiple places...." Read more
Reviews with images
A perfect book for new parents!
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Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
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This book offers straightforward, efficient, and well-organized information about how to apply Montessori principles to toddler life, how to guide your own thoughts on parenting a toddler, and how to involve your toddler in daily life in a way that minimizes stress for both you and them.
I read some of the other reviews, a few of which mention that the book's recommendations are out of reach for some families due to income, space, or ability, and I can understand how that could be felt when reading it, because it includes imagery of beautiful (and often expensive) high-quality wooden toys, discusses buying dedicated kid-sized furniture to be set up in a serene space of their own, and invites you to give your toddler difficult tasks really early on. But, if you look to this book as suggestions and guidelines on the "complete" way to do Montessori-style playtime/kid space design/etc, then there is nothing elitist about it. This book gives the "ideal-situation" suggestions, but every kid and parent is different, so take what you like and leave what you don't.
This book actually tells you to look outside the box of conventional consumerist-style parenting, to find inexpensive or natural elements or items you already own as you work with your kid's development. Of course we don't all have the time, money, or space to do the more specific suggestions perfectly all the time, but we can find helpful advice for how to slowly incorporate these principles into our kids' lives.
Take as much of it as you want and use it as a guide, do Montessori imperfectly or as much as you want to, and this book will help you immensely along the way. I'm very grateful I came across it.
It’s also very easy to read and just something useful to have on hand.
I totally recommend this book!
It’s also very easy to read and just something useful to have on hand.
I totally recommend this book!
The author's charts in the back of the book are SO helpful! She has an "Instead of this, say that" section as well as a list of suggestions of activities for your child broken down by age. I will frequently be referencing back to both of these charts. I also loved all the books she referenced to throughout her book. The ones I haven't already read sounded so intriguing that I added them to my to-be-read list. Clearly my parenting style is very in line with the author's so I found it easy to love this book.
And finally, the chapter on "Putting it into Practice" was a gold mine. The author tackles subjects like feeding, sleeping, toileting, pacifiers, siblings, brushing teeth, getting dressed, sharing, hiting, biting, throwing, clingy stages, screen time, and even how to help build skills for an introverted toddler. There were times when I wanted more from the author on a specific topic, but in those times she generally referenced further reading which works well for me since I enjoy reading. She gives such a great over-view of each topic!
All in all, this book is excellent! I would highly recommend it for any parent or caregiver of toddlers.
Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2019
The author's charts in the back of the book are SO helpful! She has an "Instead of this, say that" section as well as a list of suggestions of activities for your child broken down by age. I will frequently be referencing back to both of these charts. I also loved all the books she referenced to throughout her book. The ones I haven't already read sounded so intriguing that I added them to my to-be-read list. Clearly my parenting style is very in line with the author's so I found it easy to love this book.
And finally, the chapter on "Putting it into Practice" was a gold mine. The author tackles subjects like feeding, sleeping, toileting, pacifiers, siblings, brushing teeth, getting dressed, sharing, hiting, biting, throwing, clingy stages, screen time, and even how to help build skills for an introverted toddler. There were times when I wanted more from the author on a specific topic, but in those times she generally referenced further reading which works well for me since I enjoy reading. She gives such a great over-view of each topic!
All in all, this book is excellent! I would highly recommend it for any parent or caregiver of toddlers.
I worked at a Montessori for 5 months in 2019 and I wished I read this book while I worked there! Everything makes more sense after reading this! I felt the educators were really rigid in their ways and overall felt that the center was not the right fit for me. I like some aspects of the philosophy such as hands on learning, following the interests of the child, and encouraging the independence of the child.
My baby is almost 9 months old, and I aim to use a Montessori and STEM inspired approach with her. I want to provide her a rich background of practical life skills and language (through books mainly as replicas get too expensive).
Not everything has to be implemented from the book.
Depending on the layout of your home, I know that not everyone can afford excessive shelving and high quality Montessori toys. However, I do like the tips that Davies provides (open ended toys, focusing on the process not product, aim to beautify your space, etc) but these are pretty standard of the Montessori philosophy. I agree with another reviewer who said that you should practice whatever tips that may work in your home or lifestyle. This is just a resource and not an absolute way to raise your children.
Overall, I highly recommend this book! It’s engaging, easy to follow, has beautiful pictures, and simply inspires you to practice the Montessori philosophy at home.
Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2020
I worked at a Montessori for 5 months in 2019 and I wished I read this book while I worked there! Everything makes more sense after reading this! I felt the educators were really rigid in their ways and overall felt that the center was not the right fit for me. I like some aspects of the philosophy such as hands on learning, following the interests of the child, and encouraging the independence of the child.
My baby is almost 9 months old, and I aim to use a Montessori and STEM inspired approach with her. I want to provide her a rich background of practical life skills and language (through books mainly as replicas get too expensive).
Not everything has to be implemented from the book.
Depending on the layout of your home, I know that not everyone can afford excessive shelving and high quality Montessori toys. However, I do like the tips that Davies provides (open ended toys, focusing on the process not product, aim to beautify your space, etc) but these are pretty standard of the Montessori philosophy. I agree with another reviewer who said that you should practice whatever tips that may work in your home or lifestyle. This is just a resource and not an absolute way to raise your children.
Overall, I highly recommend this book! It’s engaging, easy to follow, has beautiful pictures, and simply inspires you to practice the Montessori philosophy at home.
Top reviews from other countries
L'autrice spiega in modo chiaro e accessibile come creare un ambiente domestico che favorisca l'indipendenza e la curiosità del bambino. Inoltre, fornisce numerosi consigli pratici su come gestire le sfide quotidiane, incoraggiando allo stesso tempo il rispetto e la responsabilità.
Ho apprezzato particolarmente le sezioni dedicate alle attività pratiche e ai suggerimenti su come coinvolgere i bambini nelle routine quotidiane, rendendole momenti di apprendimento.
In sintesi, questo libro è una risorsa preziosa per qualsiasi genitore che desideri crescere bambini curiosi, responsabili e autonomi.




































