The blog · birth to age 3
Every article, newest first: what to offer from birth to three, which toys are worth the money, and how to set up your home with less.
Written by Miri, a self-taught Montessori mom · 45 articles
Montessori at home means setting up a few corners so your baby or toddler can reach, do and finish real things, with you close by. It doesn’t start with a shopping list. The 7-day plan below starts with safety and sleep, then adds one corner a day. Only those first two are worth doing before your due date.
Button battery ingestion is an emergency even if your child seems fine. A swallowed coin battery can burn through a child’s throat in as little as two hours, so call 1-800-498-8666 or 1-800-222-1222 right away and head to the ER. Below: the first four steps, what Poison Control says about honey, and where these batteries hide.
Child safe blinds are cordless, or keep any cord short or out of a child’s reach. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) calls cordless the only option that removes the strangulation hazard. Below: which blinds the federal rule covers, what to do with corded ones you can’t replace yet, and how to guard the windows.
Baby gate for stairs, the short version: the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says to put gates at both the top and bottom once your child is learning to crawl and walk, firmly mounted to the studs, and to skip accordion-style gates. Below: which type goes where, what to check on the label, and when a play yard fits better.
Furniture anchors tie a dresser, bookcase or TV to the wall so it’s much less likely to tip onto a child who pulls or climbs on it. The government’s Anchor It! campaign says to anchor anything with drawers, doors or shelves. Below: matching a kit to your wall, installing it step by step, and what renters can do.
A babyproofing checklist works best room by room, at your toddler’s eye level. Start with the kitchen and bathroom, where medicines, cleaners, water and heat live, then move through the living room, the bedroom and the stairs. Each room below gets a short list: what to fix today, and what can wait for the weekend.
Babyproofing a Montessori home starts with a short list of jobs before your baby crawls: anchor heavy furniture, gate the stairs, and lock up medicines and cleaners. Batteries, blind cords and water make the list too. Everything else can follow your child’s next move, and the table below sorts each job by stage, from crawling to climbing.
Sick day activities for toddlers work best when they’re ready before you need them: one basket of quiet things you already own, sorted by your child’s energy level, with your toddler doing the choosing. Below you’ll find a three-level energy table, how to pack the basket in about ten minutes, and a guilt-free take on screens.
Fun activities for siblings to do together can start before the baby arrives, with a few small jobs that give your older child a real role. After the birth, the play grows with the baby: helping at bath time, rolling a ball, sharing chores. Below are ideas for each stage, plus the safety rules worth teaching early.
DIY Montessori activities for 14 months to 3 years can come straight out of the recycling bin. An oatmeal canister turns into a ball drop. Clean jars with lids become twisting practice. Below: what to make at each age, what wooden store versions cost (about $60 to $70), and the safety check before your toddler gets it.
Montessori art activities for a 1- to 3-year-old start with plain water, chunky crayons and big paper. Finger paint and dough come next, then watercolors and collage. Set out a few colors at a time and look for the AP seal, which covers products used as intended. The table below shows what fits each age.
