As seen on FB: A Montessori nursery?

scamberlous3000

A friend of mine just posted pics of the nursery for her baby on the way, and it's a Montessori nursery. Has this been discussed? Apparently the idea is that you don't use a crib and just put a crib mattress on the floor of a baby proofed room.

I'm not sure how I feel about that. How do you safely keep LO from rolling off when they can? What about the space between wall and mattress? How is this safe? Plus what's with the mirror by the mattress?!? So confused...

trackgirlparis

That is so weird....

Gatorsgirl731

I'm seeing lots of edges and corners that a little head can get bumped on. And the pictures hanging a foot off the floor? DD would have those down in no time.

I don't like it aesthetically either. Yuck.

scamberlous3000

Gatorsgirl731 said:

I'm seeing lots of edges and corners that a little head can get bumped on. And the pictures hanging a foot off the floor? DD would have those down in no time.

I don't like it aesthetically either. Yuck.

And what happens when the pictures decide to fall off the wall and smash her baby in the face?!? I'm nervous just thinking about it!

babydoll22308

I dont get this at all. I don't see how its beneficial at all. Ha she will totally be bed sharing. Calling money on it now.

nbcarlson

crunchymama11 said:

i'm not a montessori trained teacher so i don't know what they do for infants, but i'm thinking about doing the montessori floor bed for dd1 for her birthday.

imo, a baby/young toddler is too young for that but it actually a great room for an older toddler/preschooler.

I think it would be totally fine for a child who is older as well. But a newborn? No way. The whole nursery looks pretty plain, but kids don't need much.

Jalee85

Maybe older child. No way a baby. D would be on the other side of the room in 2 minutes!

bionicb

This confuses me. Why would you put a newborn/young infant on the floor? I can't get my ass up let alone me + 15lbs of wobbly kid.

EmJ&B

DS goes to a Montessori school for DC and they do a lot of the day on the floor ... the idea is that having a baby IN a crib limits the baby and they aren't inspired by their surroundings. DS school has "learning foam" that is low to the ground that the babies can relax on and play.

That said, they do have cribs (to comply with state regs)

In a private home, a Montessori nursery would need to be a completely child proof room (for an infant)

carawasa

just no.

calibr8te

So you're telling me that a room with a mattress is considered 'montessori' and not at all crack-tastic? Or is the goal to teach your child to be cool with being poor?

chicsahm

OMG how does one sleep comfortable at night when their baby is in that room! I am pretty sure they will fork out the money for one once her LO starts getting her head wedged between or turns over onto that bookcase thing that is next to the mattress. Great for my toddler NOT for my 6 month old that can't even crawl or climb back onto the mattress once she has rolled off of it in the middle of the night. I feel sad for this baby

tashad18

I wouldn't do a floor mattress for an infant, but if it was an older child, I don't see a problem.  Personally, the lack of color isn't my style. 

calibr8te

@crunchymama11:  Ow-ee. I kid with my comment.. but, I am on your post-it? 

I in no way mean to offend any of the ladies. I actually am seriously contemplating sending my own baby to Montessori and have a cousin that teaches at our closest school. 

I just personally think that a mattress on the floor reminds me of college design and/or hippy havens. I also don't necessarily see any correlation between independence and having a bed frame. 

huntjul

calibr8te said:

So you're telling me that a room with a mattress is considered 'montessori' and not at all crack-tastic? Or is the goal to teach your child to be cool with being poor?

Ewww (eta to the comment, not the nursery. I don't really care what someone else's nursery looks like.)

kimbo1216

No opinion. Not knowledgable enough on the subject to make an opinion either way.

I am also guessing that baby won't be in there day 1.

catycate

I'm not sure about the philosophy behind the bed thing, but the art and mirrors and neutral colors are all so the whole room is accessible for the child. Art work up high isn't for the child, it's for the visual aspect. I'm sure they are bolted to the wall.

EmJ&B

calibr8te said:

So you're telling me that a room with a mattress is considered 'montessori' and not at all crack-tastic? Or is the goal to teach your child to be cool with being poor?

Not funny.

The idea is for kids to be inspired and use their imagination ... some Montessori use a neutral color palette to accomplish this goal.Our school is very bright and has many primary colors.

Also, Montessori school and learning philosophy have been around for ages and ages ... so most of this isn't all that new or dramatic.

EmJ&B

@jgslr I know you were just making a joke but I wanted to tell you, DS's school has a big mirror on one wall and it is so distracting!!! A mirror in my bedroom would give me sexy time stage fright!!

muffyvonmuff

I went to Montessori school for K-12 and LOVED IT! I really want to send DS too but it's so expensive. This has nothing to do with that photo, it's strange.

calibr8te

@EmJ&B : I see that my crack-tastic and poor comment was a tad distasteful but I'll take it in stride. I am very aware of the Montessori school of thought and think that it has a lot to offer for a developing child. As mentioned, we are likely choosing this option for our boy, despite the hefty price tag attached to it. 

That said, I will always choose a middle road over being overtly set in any one way of thought. This comes from my heavy handed religious upbringing. My parents were pretty extreme in their belief system and governed a lot of extraneous things within our childhood from a mindset that should have been left in the church. All schools of thought have the potential to be extremist, and because of my upbringing, I am critical of all the things, no matter what part of the sociological spectrum they fall in. Thus, I jest about a bed frame and independence. I don't see any negative correlation between the two. 

scamberlous3000

I just don't get the mattress on the floor for an infant. It makes ZERO sense to me.

calibr8te

@crunchymama11: I too was harsh in my initial comment, and I apologize for that. 

sending you love tits.

tencheer

I have seen this and we thought of doing mattress on the floor with no crib but never intended for LO to be there on day 1. Everything I saw encouraging this also encouraged co-sleeping/ bed sharing with LO. I cannot fathom an infant on the floor with no supervision all night.

The mirror by the bed seems like a good idea in theory but I wouldn't do it.

CatieG

I understand the concept and like some PPs have mentioned, it's unlikely that the baby will be in there from day one. I'm guessing extended co-sleeping. That said, both DD and DS would never sleep if they had a mirror next to their beds (cribs!). They are both fascinated by their own image LOL The other mirror in the room, yes, but right by the bed? Is there a reason for this?

megs1409

The mirror over the mattress reminds me of what the doctors office exam table is like. DS loves the doctors office as he is in heaven looking at himself and making faces. So, the mirror above the mattress seems cool.

No idea about the rest of it. Not for me for an infant, but the philosophy intrigues me to learn more as he grows older.

[Deleted User]

I don't know anything about Montessori but to me that looks more like a fun playroom than anything I would personally consider for a nursery...if u replace the mattress with a playmat I can see DS having fun looking at himself in the mirror while playing!

AggieAsh23

I think its a very nurturing, child friendly room! We have a twin size mattress on the floor of our nursery. We use it in the early mornings for co-sleeping because LO won't sleep past 5am otherwise. She sleeps in her crib up until that time. We also lay down with her for naps and just to snuggle and play there throughout the day. We love it. I think the mirror would be a huge hit too. That said... I wouldn't trust it for overnight until she was a year old.