In Toy Box, just like María Montessori, we believe that the first stage of human development is the most important. It is the first period of life in which we should invest the greatest educational effort, not because we believe that the child is defenceless and needs our total support but because we know that it is gifted with great creative but fragile energy and therefore requires great understanding, empathy and support in order to avoid diminishing or harming it. We must be aware of the difficulties a child encounters when it faces a world designed for and by the adult, in which it has been forgotten and left by the wayside.

We are committed to a respectful parenting, based on dignifying children and truly respecting them. That is why we give such importance to the way in which we communicate with the children and why we follow Marshall Rosemberg’s approach for non-violent communication, based on learning to think about our needs, our feelings and our real desires, without making demands and always leaving aside criticism and judgment. Similarly, we should pay attention to the importance of active listening and to the development of empathy which implies putting ourselves in the place of the other person and understanding him/her.

One of our main objectives is to help children to develop in freedom, so that the limits imposed correspond to those dictated by respect towards themselves, others and the environment that surrounds them.

This method was developed by Dr. Maria Montessori based on her experience with children who were at risk of social exclusion. The pedagogical approach which she applied brought such good results that she decided to initiate a project which would apply the same method to children between three and six years old. The project was again successful, due to which it gradually spread world-wide and nowadays it has become a reference to modern day pedagogical thought, with excellent results.

This teaching method was designed from constant objective observation of children, which means that it can be adapted to the real developmental needs of each child.

What’s more, María Montessori was aware of the position that children occupy in the world, a world made for and by adults, so she insisted on the need for social change that begins with respecting minors and giving them an environment which is adapted and designed according to their abilities, needs and interests. This is the reason why one of the main objectives of this educational method is to strengthen the autonomy of each child so that it will gradually reach its independence and consequently its freedom.

This magnificent woman was convinced that children are the future hope of humanity, and therefore emphasised the importance of education for peace, so that these children, our future adults, should be able to face the problems which arise in life, including violence, the most threatening of all.

For all these reasons and many more, Toy Box’s whole ideology is inspired by the Montessori method, understanding it to be a philosophy of life.