The Montessori style of at-table dining.

The transition from high chair to table can be a tricky one.  What is the right age to get kids to sit at a table?  Much less use app the appropriate manners and tools therein.  I remember when we were making this transition ourselves with our daughter at 9 months, she was rowdy.  Too rowdy to sit in a chair and bucking like a bronco in the high chair.  She wanted to be mobile, move around and feeding her was chasing around the apartment with spoon and bowl in hand.  When we went to visit her at her Montessori around 6 months old – within a matter of ONE DAY – we saw not just her, but her entire class at lunch time sitting in small tables, with little glasses of water, using utensils and quietly eating lunch.   We immediately thought – how did they get them all to do this so quickly?  A big part of that answer is community – but another lesser discussed part of that is tools.  The tools we were missing was structure.  Structure around timing, seating arrangement and habit.  When we started to make investments in that area;  scheduling meal times, getting a table and chairs that fit her tiny stature and being consistent with our expectations, she happily sat there and ate;  as now 5 years later, she continues to do as shes transitioning to the big kids table =)