Transition in Child Development

“To assist a child we must provide him with an environment which will enable him to develop freely.” – Maria Montessori

Transition is an important phase in child development

Transition is an important phase in a child's developmental process. As parents it is essential to know in which phase of development our children are in a particular time. This knowing is the primary guide in the long journey of parenting. The understanding of where they are at present and where they are heading to helps us to prepare ourselves and the environment needed for the development of the child.

Understanding Dr.Montessori’s work is of great help to us as parents. It helped us to understand and observe the child’s development with love. There is always a beauty when children are trying something new, it is like jumping in and out of a circle before they take their place in the new phase. As parents, it is our duty neither to push them nor to held them back when they are going through this process.

According to Montessori’s observation, every child is unique. Even though the needs and developmental outcomes are same for a particular stage, each child curate their unique path with their own efforts. This means they prepare themselves with the aid of the available opportunities based on their inner needs. As primary care takers, it is essential for us to create opportunities so that they can develop themselves.

Many times, we are surprised to see our children take a leap in their growth. Though this may be partially true, there are signs of transition that we can observe if we take the help of knowledge and observation. Children actually do a lot of trails before they go from one phase to another. Say for example, our daughter started to ask array of Why? questions when she was 6.5 years. This began during a busy car journey in an early morning. This is a very beautiful memory for me. It took some time for me compose myself and respond to her. When she asked the same questions second time, I realized the importance of not answering, but to ask what would be her answer?

From then on, on and off she continues to ask her questions and give the answer as well. All we need to do as a family is  “Not to answer” but to listen with love. The beauty is “the answers keep evolving from time to time based on her new experiences”.