When A Montessori Bed?

When A Montessori Floor Bed?

As mentioned in our previous blogs (What is Montessori?). Maria Montessori initiated the Montessori approach in Italy in the early 1900s. The Montessori philosophy focuses on every child individually as everyone has different forms and length of learning things. The Montessori approach seeks to create independence, problem-solving skills, creativity, and freedom in each child. One highlight of the philosophy of Montessori at home is the Montessori floor bed which is designed to be low on the floor without rails or any restrictions providing an accessible and safe sleeping environment for the infant or child. Our blog will explore when to use a Montessori floor bed, the benefits, and how to make one in a DIY project at home.

The Montessori floor bed:

According to the Montessori approach, the Montessori floor bed is a bed that is very low to the ground. It could even be just a mattress on the floor designed to allow babies and infants to freely get in and out of bed on their own without the help of their parents or an adult. It is also designed to promote independence and freedom of movement. A floor bed provides safe sleep for a baby or child without being worried about falling off the bed.

When to use a Montessori floor bed?

This depends on the parents how comfortable they feel, the age and stage of development of the baby, and the child. Some parents decide to introduce their baby to their floor bed between 5 and 8 months when they start crawling, moving around and can sit up on their own. Some parents start to introduce their babies to a Montessori floor bed since they are newborns and others wait until they are 14 to 18 months old. It depends on your comfort level and the ability of the baby. We introduced our baby to a Montessori bed (made by ourselves) when he was 6 months old.

• Tips: Make sure that the floor bed is in a safe place such as the baby’s nursery or room with very few items or furniture around it for the first few months.
  • You can also pad the floor with baby foam floor mats to make the ground softer in case the baby rolls out of the bed. These mats can be found at any regular or big retail store.
  • Start by having your baby/infant take naps during the day first on the floor bed and see how they react to it. Are they comfortable? Do they cry when placed on the bed? Do they roll around way too much?
  • Make sure the mattress is firm and fit snuggly to the bed. This will keep the baby safe during sleep and avoid possible suffocation if their head and nose sink into a soft mattress.
  • Do not place anything else on the bed or mattress. Avoids blankets, plush toys and/or padding around the bed. (Please note all the pillows and plush toys on top of the bed shown in all the photos are purely for decoration and aesthetic, all these must be removed at night time or during naps).

 

The benefits of a Montessori floor bed:

The beautiful and amazing part about the Montessori floor bed is that it has many benefits. These benefits range from creating independence for the child, allowing freedom of movement and decisions, safe sleep patterns, and more.

Encourages Independence: Since the floor bed is very low to the ground and does not have any rails, the baby/infant can get in and out of bed independently without the assistance of the parents or adult. Thus, this creates independence for the child and relying less on the parents when he/she wants to go to sleep or take a nap. This independence promotes self-regulation and allows your baby/child to develop a sense of autonomy, which is a key principle of the Montessori philosophy.

Fosters Freedom of Movement: Similar to the first benefit, a floor bed allows the baby/child to move freely and explore the environment without being confined to a space like a crib. The baby can feel confident about exploring the environment which supports their natural curiosity, and desire to explore and learn. This freedom allows your baby/child to develop their motor skills and confidence to navigate around as they explore their environment.

Safe Sleep Patterns: Montessori floor beds are designed to make your baby/child feel safe and comfortable while sleeping. It also promotes your baby/child go to bed to take a nap or sleep whenever they feel tired; therefore, creating a healthy sleep pattern and routine on your baby/child.

 Make a DIY Montessori Floor Bed on a budget:

We understand that some or most Montessori floor beds can be very pricy, we recommend using your resources to make your own in a fun DIY project or just use a mattress on the floor.

1. The first, most simple, and cheapest option is to simply use a mattress (firm one) as a bed. This can be a mattress from a previous bed you had at home or a sibling who is now older. You can also find an affordable twin-sized mattress at a store of your choice.
2. The second option, a more fun and affordable one is to make one yourself. There are many ways and styles to create your own Montessori floor bed, but we will share how we made our floor bed for our baby when he was 6 months old and used up to 3 years old. You can also search on Google or watch YouTube videos on how to create a Montessori Floor bed at home.

• We first started by collecting the materials we were going to need. These were screws, nails, a hammer, paint, a handsaw, ruler, measuring tape, wood, bed frame, and a phone to record your project if you would like to 😉.
• Then we bought a used twin bed from Facebook market (We told you it’s all about being resourceful and creative).

• We assembled the frame of the twin bed, and we used tape and a pencil to make straight markings on the legs where we wanted to cut off.
• Then, we used the handsaw, and cut off the legs of the bed frame very short (close to where the leg and the frame meet).So that the bed frame would be almost touching the ground.
• Okay, our base for our Montessori floor bed is ready 😊. Now we need to cut the wood for the top which serves more for aesthetics.

• We used measurements and measuring tool to measure angles then we cut the ends of the wooden pieces.
• Then we started with one end of the bed, then moved to the other end of the bed, and put everything together with nails.
• After having both ends crossed together and nailed together, we did the wood in the middle. We nailed it onto the crossed wood on each end.

• And voila, there you have your new Montessori floor bed for your baby/child.

 

Conclusion: 

To sum up, we talked about what a Montessori floor bed is and the benefits of it. We also gave some tips about how to make your DIY Montessori floor bed. The Montessori Floor Bed can be just a mattress on the floor or a very low bed that is easy and accessible for our baby or child to get on and off. There is no set rule about introducing a Montessori bed to your baby, but parents generally start when the baby is between 5 and 8 months and onwards. Other parents start when the baby can sit up on his/her own or just much later. 

A Montessori floor bed has many benefits for babies and children for example, it can create independence for the child, allows freedom of movement and decisions, safe sleep patterns, and more. Generally speaking, Montessori floor beds can be expensive at stores; however, there are also many ways that you can create your own DIY Montessori floor bed.