Joy and Purpose, the Infant-Toddler Years
Book one of the Montessori for Family and Community series
Some excerpts:

(page 2)

I was born during World War II, my parents far from home with no relatives to support them with the birth of their first child. Following the advice of other scientists, when I sobbed my heart out with hunger, father enfolded mother in his arms as she cried along with me. Together they watched the clock till the second hand approached twelve and the four hours were up. Only then was I allowed to nurse. This was 1943 when it was recommended that babies only be fed every four hours to prevent their being “spoiled.”

Now we know two things that would have been helpful. First, the intervals between feedings for a newborn shorten in the early days, and then lengthen, as mother and child adjust to each other. Secondly, it is during these first days and weeks that a child learns that the world is a safe place and that his needs will be met; or he learns that this is not the case. When a newborn is left to cry because the four hours wait-to-eat is not over, his brain might well have created an unhappy view of his world, even resulting in trauma later in life. Continue reading →