The task of the environment

"The task of the environment is not to mould the child, but to allow it to reveal itself."
Maria Montessori

So what does that mean? It means that we parents need to think and feel very often about what makes our child tick. We need to get a feel for which characteristics and personality traits are inherent in the child - and how we can encourage these instead of demanding something that we think is cool, that we like to do or that we are good at.

Example 1: With a child who is very introverted, it won't help at all if you say "What do you say there?" or "Say thank you" every time you go to the bakery or butcher. The child won't do it because it doesn't suit their nature, because they don't have the confidence. And if they are repeatedly asked to do it in front of others, it's just a burden - and the child won't take the step any faster as a result. It needs to be strengthened in other ways and will then be able to master these polite things at some point.

Example 2: If you are a very passionate sportsman yourself, let's say a handball player, then there is absolutely no point in trying to turn your child into a handball player if you realise that they might lack the competitive bite or fine motor skills - or simply the desire to play handball.

You should simply develop a feel for the areas in which your child finds it easier to grow and in which you as parents can support them. Whereby "easy" is of course not true - for us parents it is sometimes terribly difficult. A small consolation, so to speak, as a tip: the more children you have, the greater the chance that one of them will enjoy doing what you enjoy doing :-).