Theories of Childhood, Second Edition (Carol Garhart Mooney) / quote 24 of 70
Adults who do too much for children
It is clear that Montessori had strong feelings about the tendency of adults to undermine children’s competence by doing too much for them. She used the word serving in her discussions and cautioned teachers that children remain incompetent if adults do for them what they are capable of doing themselves. Today we see a frightening return to this kind of thinking. Teachers frequently complain to me of parents who carry their five-year-olds because they are in a hurry.