When I was pregnant, all of my focus was on giving my child the very best start in life though enabling a calm, gentle and if possible, natural birth. Once my child was born, this focus didn’t stop, it continued on into looking at how I could raise my child in the most natural and respectful way, this led me to choose to educate my child through a Montessori school. The reason I chose Montessori at the time was because it fitted well with my approach to therapy in that I work completely client centered. I act as a guide and a facilitator and recognise that a client brings their own unique resources and skills to a session which you can tap in to. I related to Montessori being very similar to this in that they use a childs naturally "absorbent mind" and the built in motivation to learn, to enable a child to become their unique selves.

As my little boy has begun his Montessori schooling and I have grown to understand more about the approach and ethos, my interest has continued to increase. In particular, some of the wording I recently came across in their literature rang so many bells not just for how it fits with my idea of how education should be, but interestingly for the actual birth of a child. For example:

• The Montessori method discourages children being obviously monitored for example taking exams and tests
• The teacher is an "observer" of the child as they go about what comes instictively to them
• Children are masters of their school room environment, which has been specifically prepared for them, rather than for the ease of the teacher
• Children spend a lot of time alone during periods of intense concentration. During these self-chosen and spontaneous periods, the child is not to be interrupted by the teacher
• There are no time limits for the child - she may work with whatever he chooses for as long as she likes.
• When a difficulty arises the teacher is able to step in and give help but is always careful never to give more help than is needed.
• Children work at their own individual pace and naturally develop their own rhythm and work pattern.

Now try replacing the word "Teacher" with "Doctor", and "Child/Children" with "Mum/s".
Interestingly, just in the same way as studies of natural birth show that birth can be calm and gentle with little or no intervention, studies have also shown that Montessori Education Provides Better Outcomes than Traditional Methods.

One study in particular comparing outcomes of children at a public inner-city Montessori school with children who attended traditional schools indicates that Montessori education leads to children with better social and academic skills. The study appears in the Sept. 29, 2006 issue of the journal Science.

The general lesson from these approaches is that guiding rather than forcing, observing rather than examining, flexibility rather than being timebound and helping only when it's needed will lead to trusting in someones (a child or a mum to be) intuitive, built in knowledge that they know what to do for the best outcome.

If you would like more information on the Montessori approach, please see this website: http://www.montessori-ami.org/

Thanks go to my local Montessori school for opening my eyes and mind to this wonderful approach: Brighton Montessori School

Yours for calmer births, more often,

Photo credit: valilouve