A Great Find: A book on parenting - Montessori Art Mentor

Parent Education is an important part of our philosophy. Helping parents understand how our teaching method and environments work to produce lifelong learners is just one topic we present. As teachers we are often called upon to discuss problems parents are having with their children.How children behave in school may be different from how they behave at home.What is recommended in this book is very compatible with what Montessorians doing their environment everyday.

A life long friend informed me that a cousin of hers had published a book about a way to discipline children that might interest me. I knew by the title of the book that it would reflect the love and respect I had experienced as a child when being around my friend’s family.

The book describes the traditional way to handle discipline as being Parenting 101 and his alternative choice as being Parenting 201. The two are compared in a general way, then the comparison increases in specifics as each chapter unfolds. By the end of the book, the author has explained everything that facilitates the practice of Parenting 201. Over and over he explains that teaching, mentoring, and modeling are important positive ways to protect the child’s self esteem.

“The challenge is to learn how to be a friend and an effective parent at the same time. You can adopt the model of your best teacher and you can become your child’s best teacher in life.” The author would say, “Smile when you say that.”

It is easy, enjoyable, and thought provoking to read. I can imagine parents forming study groups that would meet at different times to support each other to make A Choice for Better Parenting work for them.