Discipline for a toddler. Maria Montessori inspired.

Recently, I began to read Maria Montessori book "Casa dei Bambini", or Children's House, translated to English, and I was really inspired how she approached on education of discipline for kids that were learning by her method. Children were keen to listen her and develope their potentials at the highest level.

What do I mean with discipline for a toddler by her method? A lot of mums already know about montessori games which develope fine motor skills on babies, toddlers and kids. But most of them don't know how she obtained that all these kids were doing what she wants and play the games she porposed to them to play.

Every week on Children's house, nurses took measurments of the kids, and this measurements were taken in the day of the week that was born the kid, for example if the child were born on Monday, then all the measurments(height, weight, skin color, eyes control etc.) were taken on Monday. To make this process easy for a teacher, M. Montessori made for every kid a card with all necessary measurments and basic data about the kid. Kids loved the idea of these cards as they felt important to the school and they were keen to help the teacher to take all their measurements.

I hope I grow your interess to read her book and I won't tell you nothing more. I am sure you will ask now, how these cards are related to discipline? In my case it has a direct impact to make a discipline that works for my toddler.

I proposed to make a card as well, not on paper, but on the board as I thought it will be easier if I will have to make changes during the week. This week I continue to make it on the board, but next week for sure I will do it on paper and I will share with you a sample. This card, was done for the whole week and includes all the activities he makes during the day, like going to the toilet alone or playing alone, watching cartoons and eating. And all these activities were marked as 'v' meaning that this activity was done very well by our toddler. Our toddler was happy when he saw, that some activities done by him were appreciated by us. It is ok that some activities are done easier and others less or even when he doesn't like to do, but that mark of 'v', and our appreciation means much more for him than his effort to make what we want.

- Before this card, we had very difficult his meals without a cartoon (we do not let him watch tv or other screen activities, and screen activities were permitted only during the meal) and he neglected any kind of food without a cartoon. With this card it was soooo easy.
- Washing hands and teeth were a process that was easy before the card but he didn't wash his hand regularly, only when he wanted. Now, he is washing his hands and teeth more times that it is necessary, only to get this recognition on the board.
- Put all his toys at theirs place and cleaning the space where he plays. Before this card it was mostly impossible, now he is doing almost every time.
And much more things that I have been impressed after appling this method. Here I want to mention that we proposed all recognitions to be marked only if the kid is doing the activity alone. If he needs to go to the toilet he has to go alone, to eat as well he has to eat alone without any help. We, parents, have the main job to observe if our kid is doing correctly the activity and have to help only if we see that our kid can't do it by himself.

Here is the board of our last week recognitions:

And here is this week card, it is optimized to other activities we want him to do by himself.

This method works, and I am happy of the results. I don't have to negotiate with my toddler when he needs to eat or to play alone without me. I do not have to scream any more when I have to put suncream in the morning, he knows that if the thing is not done there won't be any recognition on the board and that is it.