Montessori Meets Baby-Led Weaning: On NPN Today
You can find me over at the Natural Parents Network today, where I discuss the Natural Approach to Introducing Solids that worked for us when Annabelle first began exploring the world of food.
“The Montessori method for introducing solids has always appealed to me on some level, but the practice of baby-led weaning, popular among natural parents, also caught my eye. I went back and forth a good deal as I tried to work out the best approach for us, but in the end, I found out that the two can actually work together in perfect harmony.”
Head over to NPN for the full article.
Mammals and Their Mammary Glands, a Post About Breastfeeding
I have no recent nursing photos of my own, so I borrowed this one from Hobo Mama, via Flickr.
I have written before about the fact that in all my days of nursing anytime and anywhere, I have never once received a rude comment. For the most part, I have seen nothing but support for breastfeeding. Unfortunately, last week I received a reminder of the fact that some people are still hung up, confused, or ill informed when it comes to breastfeeding. I was on the phone with a nurse who called me for a telephone consult. I prefaced my question with a bit of background information on Annabelle, which included the fact that much of her nutrition comes from breastmilk. This nurse stopped me mid-sentence and asked, incredulously, “She’s still nursing? At 19 months!?” Of course this could be interpreted as positive or negative, but her tone said it all. She was far from supportive, and it really upset me. This slightly (okay, very) snarky post has been bouncing around in my head ever since. Continue reading
The Beauty of the Child-Sized Table
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| The glorious table |
Child-sized furniture is, fortunately, becoming pretty ubiquitous nowadays, but it’s also very important to Montessori mamas like myself. I am embarrassed to say that, since we eat meals at the family table with Annabelle in her high chair, I put off the purchase of her table until just a few weeks back. I talked and talked with the daddy about buying one, but we were constantly putting it on hold for one reason or another. I planned to buy one by her birthday, but her Grammy and Grampy (thanks, guys!) were kind enough to set her up with one so that I didn’t have to. I cannot describe how wonderful it is to have! I can’t believe I waited so long.
When the table arrived, I started eating breakfast and lunch with Annabelle and serving her snacks there. The first thing I noticed was how much easier it was to get our food ready, because I can sit at her table while I do some of the preparation, which puts me at Annabelle’s eye level. Instead of busily doing things at the counter that she can’t see and wants desperately to be a part of, I can work where she can see me, and even be involved to some extent. Not only does this make my life easier, but it shows Annabelle that her food doesn’t just magically appear on a plate. As the months and years go on, Annabelle will be able to take more and more of a role in the preparation of our food, and working at her level, where she can come and go as she pleases instead of being restricted by her high chair, will make it all the more enjoyable for her.
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| Taking a break from wiping the table to have another sensory experience. |
One of my biggest frustrations with our morning routine pre table was how stinkin’ hard it was to get Annabelle from breakfast to bath and then dressed, outside to play, then nursed, and down for a nap and still find a way to clean up the oats that inevitably ended up on the high chair, in every nook and cranny of the table, and on the floor before the ants that thrive so beautifully in our tropical climate, tried to help me out. Now that we’re eating breakfast at Annabelle’s table, I can actually involve her in the cleanup. We wipe off the table and chairs together and then sweep the floor before we move on to get ready for the rest of our day. The result is a more relaxed mama and a happier, more independent toddler who has a deeper sense of the rhythm of our day.
I have been using the bottom of Annabelle’s kitchen shelf to keep items for setting up and cleaning the table and I had promised to share photos and details here. I’m still constantly changing that set-up, however, and have yet to settle on something I’m totally happy with, so I think I’ll save that for a separate post down the line.
Not only is Annabelle now more involved in our food preparation and cleanup routine, but she is more inclined to tell me when she wants to eat. Just this week, she has started walking over to the table and pulling out a chair to let me know she wants a snack. Now that solid foods constitute a bigger part of her diet, I’m thrilled that she’s able to communicate these needs to me, and that she is more able to get up and walk away when she’s full.
The table we chose is made by Lipper International. You can find it on amazon and many other sites. It wasn’t too pricey, it shipped here, and it’s beautiful and sturdy, so we’re happy. My only disappointment is that it’s still a bit too big for Annabelle, so she needs a hand when she is getting in and out of her chair. I really would prefer that she be able to use her table completely independently, but she only needs another inch or so and she’ll be golden. If we have a next child, I think I’ll aim to have an infant-sized table for him or her by the time they’re sitting independently. The up side, however, is that this table will work great for Annabelle for many years to come, and can be used with a sibling in the future.
Do you have a child-sized table in your home? When did you introduce it, and how does it work for your child? Do you use it for all, or some of your meals, or for activities and projects? Feel free to share your knowledge and recommendations in the comments!
Introducing the Water Glass
I ordered glasses for Annabelle from Montessori Services* before her first introduction to solid foods. It was at about seven months that she began eating complementary foods, and I began to offer a cup of water at mealtimes then as well. At these first introductions, Annabelle generally poured the water out, or just played with the cup, so I opted to put it away and wait a few weeks before trying again. I have offered it once or twice since with the same result, until last Wednesday, when she took the cup with both hands, and eagerly drank down all of the water.
I purchased the stainless steel cup that Annabelle is using in the photo at left for her first attempts at a cup. Once she got the hang of holding it with two hands, and drinking carefully, I had intended to offer an actual glass, which we finally did on Thursday. She did great! She drank all of her water, and wanted more. She absolutely loves it, but after two or three cups switches to pouring the water on the table and playing in it, or just playing with the glass itself. When this happens, I simply sign and say “all done,” then move the glass and take Annabelle out of her high chair. She does not seem upset – instead it’s as though she understands that we’re taking a cue from her by ending the meal on this cue. It seems to work best, then, to offer her water after she has finished her food.
But why the glass?
An important feature of Montessori materials and activities is what we refer to as the control of error. The control of error is a built in quality that allows the child to immediately notice if he or she makes a mistake. The idea is essentially to create a feedback loop that allows the child to continuously learn and improve their skill with the material in question, independently. As Montessori put it, “a ‘control of error’ is any kind of indicator which tells us whether we are going toward our goal, or away from it.”
Bottles and sippy cups are generally designed to take abuse. Children can throw them across the room if they want to, and then simply pick them up and begin drinking again. They can hold them upside down, and most are designed so that they won’t even leak. When the child uses a real glass, she has to be careful. She has to focus on what she is doing. She has to hold the glass with two hands and tip it just enough, but not too much. She is improving her coordination, her fine motor skills, and her powers of concentration. In Montessori’s words, the child learns “to command his movements.”
Another goal in Montessori is to aid children, who are just beginning to discover how the world works, in adapting to the time and place in which they live. Being able to sit and enjoy a meal with others can be a valuable thing in our culture. By helping children to become accustomed to this practice from an early age, we are helping them to adapt to their time and place. Most importantly, we are doing so not by direct instruction, and not by correction. Rather than imposing rules on children, we are simply establishing peaceful mealtimes, with respect for the table and the items used at it, as a normal part of life. This is certainly not a primary goal, but it is something to consider.
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*While I recommend Montessori Services as a great place to find materials for the prepared environment, infant glasses are easy to find. Just after I received Annabelle’s, I found the very same set of glasses at our local Ross store! The best glass at this stage is actually a sturdy, easy to hold shot glass. The stainless steel tumbler sold by Montessori services is simply a condiment cup that can be found in many stores. As children get a bit older and need something larger, a juice glass or a rocks glass works perfectly!
Vegetarian and Vegan Diets for Children: Are they Adequate?
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Annabelle enjoys some vegan soup
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The veg-zealots say yes…
There is a great deal of information on raising vegetarian and vegan children through the the Vegetarian Resource Group and PCRM among others, but looking to organizations like these to determine whether or not a veggie diet is safe for children is sort of like asking the Pope if children should be raised in the church. They may be right, and they may not, but you already know what they’re going to say. Like many new mothers, I second-guess myself all the time, and a lot of the reading I did during my recent flurry of infant nutrition research made me stop for a second, and question whether or not feeding Annabelle a vegan diet was really a safe and responsible thing to do. I now feel as confident as ever that it is.
But what do the non-zealots say?
Organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics and the US Department of Agriculture agree on the safety and adequacy of vegan and vegetarian diets with one important caveat: they must be carefully planned.
The ADA and the AAP: “The American Dietetic Association and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) agree: Well-planned vegetarian and vegan eating patterns are healthy for infants and toddlers.
Time and attention are necessary to make certain young children, vegetarian or not, get all the nutrients they need for normal growth and development.” (source)
From Pediatrics in Review (The AAP): “Some people believe that patients following vegan or vegetarian diets suffer from nutritional deficiencies. Although there have been case reports of children failing to thrive or developing cobalamin deficiency on vegan diets, these are rare exceptions. Multiple experts have concluded independently that vegan diets can be followed safely by infants and children without compromise of nutrition or growth and with some notable health benefits.” (source)
The USDA “Vegetarian diets can meet all the recommendations for nutrients.” (source)
and “The base USDA food patterns can be adapted for use as a guide to healthy eating by those wanting to consume more or only plant-based foods, with limited impacts on nutrient adequacy.” (source)
The American Heart Association “Vegetarian diets can be healthful and nutritionally sound if they’re carefully planned to include essential nutrients.” (source)
See the sources provided for help in planning, and/or look back at some of my earlier posts on food – and come back throughout the week for more!
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