It isn’t every day that I get to keep up with the news. When I do so, lately, headlines and articles pertaining to our nation’s youth have me thinking. With each new instance of adolescents threatening – or even perpetuating – violence in schools, I wonder how much they truly understand the reality of their choices. I am keenly aware there are a variety of forces undermining healthy developmental foundations of children today. Yet, one factor we do not stop to consider often enough is a child’s ability to navigate between fantasy and reality.
You see, as an early childhood educator, I am on the front lines of guiding the development of the youngest minds through the most crucial neurological growth phases human beings experience. The children in my school range in age from six weeks to six years old. Some are with us for just a few short hours each week, while others are with us full-time as their parents work to provide for their families. This is a reality for many children in our society, and it is the reason I – and my fellow teachers – are dedicated to providing healthy environments for all children to prosper. We care for all children as if they are our own.
Nearly 100 years ago, Dr. Maria Montessori documented a window of crucial brain development through long-term observations and study of children from birth to age six. She determined that during this age, a human child’s brain undergoes more rapid neurological growth than at any other time in life. However, during this window of rapid growth, a child is uniquely vulnerable while developing all the systems and tools necessary for living, learning and thriving. Because of this vulnerability, she determined that all children require a foundation rooted in reality, protected from the harshness of the adult world, from which they can grow to develop healthily. Over time, this fundamental principle has been supported by MRI observations and the work of other researchers throughout the world.
It was important to Dr. Montessori that children use imagination to explore the world around them. Yet, it was especially important that they do so while maintaining awareness of the boundary between reality and fiction. 100 years ago, children spent most of their time at home during this critical neurological growth window. 100 years ago, modern education as we know it wasn’t fully realized system. Literacy and education were reserved primarily for the middle to upper classes. 100 years ago, our scientific understandings of child development were only just beginning. Today, our children are developing in a vastly different world.
As parents and educators, we guide our children through a world of mass-media exposure like no other in human history. From the day children are born, they are exposed to a multitude of fantasy worlds, ideas, and images that may make it difficult for young minds to navigate the boundary between fantasy and reality. So, what are we to do as caregivers responsible for the precious minds of our future? It begins with having a discerning eye, similar to the one we have regarding our children’s dietary needs. We must first establish the healthy boundary for our children by acknowledging it and articulating it along the way.
Take imaginative play, for instance. According to Dr. Montessori’s method, imaginative play during this age is to be grounded in experiences human beings are truly capable of.
- Pretending to be a pilot flying an airplane – healthy.
- Flying with Peter Pan to Neverland – not healthy.
- Reading about Peter Pan as a character bound by the pages of a storybook – healthy.
- Believing in Peter Pan as a real person in Neverland – not healthy.
As you may see – with your mature adult brain – there are clear boundaries between the fantasy worlds and reality in these examples. But, to a young child’s developing brain, the distinction is not obvious, until it is articulated clearly for them.
Children of today are developing in a world that bombards the imagination with fantasy. From books, movies, television and smartphones, to tablets, computers and video games, many children engage with fantasy worlds for more hours of their lives than ever before in recorded human history. They do so most often without any guidance or articulation of boundaries. This may predispose our children to anxiety, stress, and disassociation when later confronting real world problems with real world consequences.
I have always loved reading stories that activate my imagination. Children deserve to be allowed to imagine, just as they deserve to have treats and dessert. However, just like treats and dessert, a mental diet of fantasy without distinction from reality is unhealthy – even hurtful to children. Our children trust their loved ones and educators to do what is best for them. If we are to prepare our children for the challenges life will surely bring them, it is crucial to provide them with the tools necessary to soundly distinguish the world of observable reality and those which are fantasy. We must provide love, security, structure, support, and dedicate ourselves to making choices for them they may not fully understand at the time.
It isn’t easy to make these choices for children. Nearly 100 years after Dr. Montessori’s research, there are social and economic pressures in this hyper-visual world that did not exist in her time. Critics, now, may even say that to contextualize fantasy takes the fun out of play for children. In my humble opinion, that criticism simply lacks imagination. Though it may be the unpopular or difficult thing to do, we must be mindful for our children – until they are capable of being mindful for themselves.
Marie Liburdi is director of Children’s Place Montessori. With locations in Brownstown Twp. and Grosse Ile, Children’s Place Montessori was created in an effort to advocate early childhood education and its vital importance for young children. Visit cpmontessori.com for additional information.
