The phrase 'sensitive periods in human development' may sound like it refers to moody

teenagers, but it actually refers to periods of time when a child easily absorbs information in
a specific way. The most important sensitive periods occur between birth and age six. Learn
more in this lesson.
Example and Definition
Meet two year old Ronnie. Ronnie is fascinated by small objects. He will spend hours
picking up small items to examine them, and he is learning how to manipulate them in his
hands. Why is Ronnie obsessed with this behavior
!ne answer to this "uestion may be that he is going through one of the sensitive periods of
development.
Sensitive periods is a term developed by the #utch geneticist Hugo de $ries and later used
by the %talian educator Maria Montessori. &he term refers to several overlapping periods of
development where a child is sensitive to a particular stimuli or type of interaction.
'ccording to Montessori, from birth until about the age of six, we seem to learn from our
environment without any conscious effort. (oung children become skilled at numerous
activities without formal instruction. &hey may not even be aware that they)re learning.
'ccording to supporters of the idea of sensitive periods, this occurs because it is very easy
for children to ac"uire certain abilities during a specific sensitive period. 'lso, once a
sensitive period is passed, the development of the brain has progressed past the point where
that particular ability can be easily absorbed. 'fter this, the ability must be formally taught,
it will take a great deal of effort to learn and will not be as readily ac"uired by the child.
&he *ensitive +eriods are the best times for a child to learn a specific skill and are critical to
the child,s self-development. &he child has this inner urge to undertake the task in order to
live. 'lthough, once this period passes it is possible for the child to learn the new skill but
with much more difficulty. ' sensitive period that is prevented from occurring will manifest
itself into a cranky child. &he three main sensitive periods for children aged birth to six are,
order, movement and language. &here are also other sensitive periods such as, refinement of
motor skills, sensitivity to small objects, social behaviour and sensory refinement.
Characteristics
Montessori also notes that there are five observable behaviors that characteri.e sensitive
periods.
/irst, you will see the child engaged in a clear activity with a beginning, middle, and end.
*econd, the activity will be irresistible to the child.
&hird, the child will return to the activity again and again.
/ourth, the child will develop an emotional attachment to the activity.
'nd fifth, the child will appear satisfied when the activity is completed.
0et)s use Ronnie again to illustrate these observable behaviors. Ronnie is clearly engaged in
the activity of stringing buttons. &he activity begins with a string and some large buttons,
which he will continue to add to the string until he has used all of the buttons. He will
always choose this activity when it is presented, and he will do it over and over again. %f the
activity is taken away before he is finished, Ronnie will cry and throw a tantrum. %f he
completes the activity to his satisfaction, he is always happy and calm afterwards.
The Sensitive Periods
1ow that we all know what a sensitive period is in general, this is how they are
characteri.ed, &hese categories are language, order, sensory skills, motor skills, and social
skills.
&he /irst sensitive period category is order. &his period occurs roughly between the ages of
one to three years old. #uring this period a child is learning to draw conclusions and
organi.e information to make sense of the environment. &here are four subgroups2 spatial
order, social order, sensory order, and temporal order. %f a child is unable to accomplish
these skills during this period, they may later experience difficulty with reasoning and
learning.
%1&R!#34&%!1
%n this assignment % am going to discuss the child,s sensitive period for order. % will explain
how it is catered for in the classroom, referring to materials and activities.
Maria Montessori believed that the first phase of the absorbent mind period is from birth to
three years and that this is the most important time in a child,s development, as the child
unconsciously learns his5her basic skills. *he called this the period of unconscious creation.
&hrough this time she believed that the child needs order to adapt to his5her environment. We
cannot gain internal order unless we practice external order. 4hildren cannot distinguish
themselves from their surroundings. &herefore, order automatically helps them make the
distinction. 6&he tantrums of the sensitive periods are external manifestations of an
unsatisfied need, expression of alarm over a danger, or of something being out of place.,
7Maria Montessori, 89::, p.;8<.
While this sense of order can cause frustrations, it can also cause ama.ing focus on keeping
things clean and learning how they work. 4hildren before the age of six 7and especially
between two and four< love to participate in the activities that maintain order, like cleaning,
folding, putting things away, and other daily activities. 'llowing your child to participate in
these activities and learn them is a great way to keep him occupied when he is active and
having a hard time finding something to do 7when you are showing your child how to do
something, come up with one se"uence for showing him how to do it and show it too him the
same way each time= even changing how you do something each time can confuse a child and
make them become disinterested<
*>1*%&%$> +>R%!# /!R !R#>R
'fter the age of one, many parents begin to see the early signs of what is fre"uently dubbed
as the ?terrible twos.? What many parents don)t reali.e is that this behavior has a very direct
cause and can be linked to a very necessary developmental process in the brain2 the *ensitive
+eriod for !rder. &his sensitive period, which is a critical period of learning that allows the
brain to make certain foundational developments, is essential to the child)s ability to learn to
classify and organi.e the information around him.
'round the age of 8@ months to A B, certain characteristics and behaviors begin to appear
strongly in the young child. &his is actual the peak time for the sensitive period which begins
at birth and fades away closer to the age of six. When discussing ages relative to sensitive
periods, however, it)s important to remember that every child)s brain is different, and so these
ages are estimates and not exact. 't 8C months, my son is already beginning to exhibit strong
signs of entering into this period. He falls apart easily and throws himself to the floor when
he becomes frustrated. 3nexpected changes can easily throw him into the same kind of
frustration. He is just starting to understand that everything has it)s place and that there are
certain consistent causes and effects in the world. When he meets inconsistency or the
unexpected, it)s "uite a blow.
When children reach this peak period of the sensitive period, they often fuss or cry because
things change or are different, new places or new activities may upset them. *chedule
becomes extremely important and some children may fall apart when their routine is changed.
4hildren may show distress when things in their environment are moved and they may
attempt to put them back in place. %t)s these very common place symptoms that have lead to
that popular phrase, the Dterrible twos,E and it has long been believed that children are
focused on getting their own way. &his period of time becomes complicating for many
parents who often find themselves engaged in endless battles, find it difficult to get ?control?
of their child, or become frustrated when their child does not adapt easily to new
circumstances or routines.
What is really happening, however, is not rigidity or defiance, but rather a very profound and
important developmental stage. While children are learning to accept discipline, these
battles often occur less because the child is trying to get his5her own way but because the
adult fails to understand what the child is experiencing. 4hildren)s actions are often
misunderstood as defiance or willfulness, when they are actually a result of frustration and
confusion. &he root of that confusion lies in what defines the *ensitive +eriod for !rder2
children need things to remain the same. Fy order, we do not refer to the need to create order
out of chaos 7many of these children are very happy creating chaos which derives from
another developmental need to take things apart<. %nstead, it refers to the child)s need for
things need to stay in the same place and activities need to occur throughout the day in the
same manner. 4hildren prefer to do and see things they have done before, and novelty can be
a little off-putting.
&hese characteristics of the mind are directly linked to the child,s need to learn. Fiologically,
the child)s mind is preparing itself to ac"uire, categori.e, and utili.e sensory input, or
information. 4hildren enter the world without the ability to regulate any of that information.
&heir brains do not develop the ability to regulate sensory input until, roughly, crawling age.
&hey are open to the continuous bombardment of information. &hen, as the brain ages, it
begins to develop the ability to sort out that information. However, the world in its entirety is
enormous, and so, children must collect a wealth of information in order to operate within it.
&he child,s brain must develop the ability to learn a language, coordinate movements, and
communicate wants and needs, and so much more. %nformation is everywhere, and the
child,s brain is just learning how to use it.
&hink of the newly born child,s brain as an empty records room. %nformation just begins
pouring in from all over the place. 'll these pieces of information just pile up and can be
very overwhelming, which is why young infants are so easily overloaded. >ventually though,
the brain begins to develop a filing system. %t creates cabinets, drawers, and folders for the
information that is coming in. 1ow, an adult,s brain has a much more complex filing system
than a child,s. &he adult,s brain can file a piece of information in multiple places, or develop
very distinct categories or more generali.ed categories depending upon what is needed for a
piece of information. 'dults have the abstract thinking abilities to do this and, more
importantly, a foundational filing system to extrapolate from. Fut the child is just starting
out, just building this filing system. He creates a category and files a piece of information in
it. 1ow, if that information changes or moves, he may not have a new category yet created to
explain such a thing. His black and white filing system is not prepared to file this
information elsewhere, categori.e the information in a new way, or understand this change
yet, so he is distressed. !rder 7things happening in an expected way or objects being in an
expected place< helps the child maintain things in a very specific way so that he may organi.e
the information in his mind. &hen, as he ages and develops new ways of thinking, he can
begin to move that information around. /or the very young child, however, every time
something changes, it,s like someone has walked into the filing room, ripped pieces of paper
from the files and tossed them about because there is not yet a new place for them to go.
4an you imagine how frustrating and debilitating that might feel &he child usually will have
one of two responses2 he will either show frustration or anger because he cannot figure out
how to return the order or he will find a way to return the order and delight in his
accomplishment.
/or example, in the classroom, if a teacher moves a table and chair to another part of the
room after hours when the children are not in attendance, she may find that later in the
following day the table and chair have returned to their original positions. *he may move
them again with no one noticing and again, she will find them returned. What has happened
is that the children know things to be one way and wish to have it remain that way. &hey are
not defying the teacher, but rather, delighting in their ability to return things to what they
consider a natural order.
!n the other hand, another example might be to consider the mother and daughter standing at
a cupcake counter. &he mother allows the daughter to pick out a cupcake for herself and
other family members, pays, and the two move to continue with their day. &he child asks for
the cupcake immediately, but the mother refuses because she wants the child to wait until she
gets home. *he explains this. 1ow the five or six year old may have a better chance of
understanding because they have built in necessary categories for waiting, but the two year
old child falls apart. While the mother sees this as defiance and the child trying to get her
way, the child is more likely having this reaction because she is not capable of understanding
waiting. %n her mind, the order of things goes2 you pick something to eat and you eat it. 1ow
the child and parent are engaged in battle, the parent trying to teach the child that she can,t
cry and get her way 7which is a fair reaction< and the child trying to understand why she can,t
have the cupcake she was told she could have 7at some point<.
's a parent you may now be asking, so what do % do Give a child everything she wants
because she is sensitive to order &he answer is still no, but what knowledge of the sensitive
period for order can do is help you prepare your child and yourself for changes or
misunderstandings that might ensue because children understand that things happen a certain
way or belong in a certain place. (ou can avoid a tantrum under these circumstances, or
perhaps be more sensitive to it. 3ltimately, it helps to prepare a young child with information
before you change something, or let them participate in the change. Had the teacher from
earlier sat with the children and showed them what she was doing, the children would have
created a new category in the process of participation and shifted their concept of where the
chair belongs, creating a new order. &hey would then have not need to move it. &he mother
from earlier might have chosen to secretly obtain a cupcake from her daughter and surprise
her with it later when she could eat it. !r, if her daughter were a bit older, explained exactly
where and when the child could eat the cupcake before she chose it.
%t is important to respect a child,s sense of order and understand their experiences to help you
engage in fewer battles. 3nderstanding that change can throw a child,s need for familiarity
off can help you prepare them for times when you cannot avoid it happening. &he key to
helping avoid the battle is to help the child create a new sense of order for the change through
preparation. (ou can tell your children things may change before they do. %f it is a long-term
change, you can try easing them into it by changing things in increments over time. !r, you
can help them participate in the decision-making process that leads to the change. &he
important thing is to remember that your child,s frustration or focus is based on his need to
learn and understand the world and not the desire to control or manipulate. When your child
is upset, if you think on how things may have changed and look to remedy unanticipated
change in the future, you may find that the instances of battle and distress become far fewer.
!ne day this need for order will disappear, and your child will move pass this phase of
development into a phase of disorder 7when parents are constantly wishing for the child to
clean up after himselfH<. 0etting your child learn how to do these things that appeal to his
sense of order will also help him gain great independence. %t will also help him put is energy
into activities that will develop his skills and his ability to concentrate. &he child,s sense of
order is and essential part of his development and helps him make sense of a very large and
confusing world. (our sensitivity to it can make all the difference.
Sensitive Periods in Development
Maria Montessori and the Sensitive
Periods in Development
For the happy and full development of children, Dr. Maria Montessori recommends a prepared
environment in which the child, set free from undue adult intervention, can live its life
according to the laws of its development.
What are these laws of development?
There are successive stages the child passes through.
Each stage has its unique characteristics that require specific environment and kinds of teaching.
Each stage has one thing in common: each has its sensitive periods , or particular times when the
child is attracted to certain activities in order for specific development to occur.
What is a sensitive period?
hat e!actly is a sensitive period"
# special sensitivity that arouses a strong spontaneous desire to learn and master some skill or
concept.
# period of transitory and varying duration.
# time especially devoted to the acquisition of a particular trait.
$nce that trait is acquired, the sensitivity disappears.
A child learns to adjust himself and make acquisitions in his sensitive periods. hese are
like a !eam that li"hts interiorl# or a !atter# that furnishes ener"#. $t is this sensi!ilit#
which ena!les a child to come into contact with the e%ternal world in a particularl#
intense manner. At such a time ever#thin" is eas#& all is life and enthusiasm. 'ver# effort
marks an increase in power.( Maria Montessori
#dults have no direct influence on these periods. e cannot encourage them to %egin nor can
we command them to stop. #ll we can do it prepare an environment that encourages and
nurtures spontaneous development.
A classic example of a sensitive period is the child acquiring speech.
&e will %egin when he is ready and once he %egins, no amount of ca'oling will cause the child
to remain silent. &e cannot stop %ecause he is acting in accord with the very rhythms and
cycles of the force of life. The child will pay particular attention to the human voice and
mimic the sounds he hears. (y %a%%ling millions of sounds, he will eventually acquire speech.
That speech will %e whatever language the people around him speak, no matter how simple or
comple! it may %e.
)eco"ni*in" sensitive periods
)ou can recogni*e a sensitive period occurring when you see child your child developing a passion for
a certain toy or activity.
&e may %e trying to acquire %alance and is drawn to walk on the cracks of sidewalks, or along the
cur%.
+he may %e drawn to pick up small o%'ects of any kind to develop the pincer grip.
)our child will spontaneously repeat the activity again and again until one day the cycle is finished.
The activity may not seem to %e particularly meaningful to you, %ut it fulfills some area of mental or
physical development and aware parents and caregivers will permit the activity.
hen the acquisition has %een attained, the action or material that facilitated the
development
loses its fascination. The Montessori system is %ased on providing
materials to suit these sensitive periods of spontaneous interest. )ou can
do this at home too.
Missing a sensitive period %y having no e!ternal activity to match
internal development is like dropping a stitch in knitting.
,f you drop a stitch, your garment is not as strong or %eautiful as it might have %een. More
important than the eventual degree of perfection that may %e reached, is the warping of %eing
that occurs when a sensitive period is ignored or in some way %locked.
What happens when a sensitive period is !locked?
Maria Montessori %elieved that when a sensitive period is %locked, the child reacts to defend
his internal growth and integrity.
Many childhood tantrums happen as a result of a frustrated sensitive period. ,magine, for
e!ample, a preschooler trying with great concentration to %utton his shirt, and in our rush we
step in to do it for him. The child %ursts into tears and we all get upset. hat 'ust happened"
e have 'ust interfered with a cycle of mastery and the child reacted in the only way he knew
how to defend his growing self-mastery.
Montessori e!plains that these e!amples of tantrums are the e!pression of alarm and the
defense of inner development. The soul cries out in the only way it knows. The tantrum stops
as soon as the possi%ility e!ists of satisfying the need.
.,f during his sensitive stage a child is confronted with an o%stacle to his toil, he suffers a dis
tur%ance or even warping of his %eing , a spiritual martyrdom that is still too little known, %ut
whose scars are %orne unconsciously %y most adults./
Montessori referred to four specific types of order to which
the child is sensitive. They are spatial order, social order,
sensory and temporal order. All through the period of
unconscious creation, the child seeks order so he can acclimate
himself to his environment. The youngest child doesn't even
realize he is separate from his surroundings. Order in his world
helps him make the distinction. Thus he uses an external order
to uild on his internal orientations.
!"

#e is sensitive to a spatial order$ that is, everything has a
place. %hen his environment is arranged the same way day after
day, he comes to rely on it and can get his earings. &radually,
he asors the concept that if the tale is there, for example,
then ' must e here. (ersonally, ' have seen an infant return to
his little ed for )ust a few moments at a time throughout the
morning, not to sleep, ut to pause, seemingly as a way of
reorienting himself.
The child is also learning aout the people around him. This
social order allows him to discern who is who and to distinguish
etween himself and the mass of *them* out there. 't is critical
at this stage that the same people come in contact with the
ay,
over and over, so that he can accomplish this distinguishing
work. +hildren in child care centers often suffer personal
distress from confusion ecause of the industry's high turn,over
rate for caregivers.
!-

The child is sensitized to a sensory order, in other words,
to the differences in things$ that some are soft or hard, that
o)ects have color, different colors, and shades of the same
color. #e needs to freely explore his prepared world so he can
differentiate among these .ualities. 'nfants often cry ecause
of sensory deprivation.
!/

The young child needs ritual, or temporal order. 'f his life
has a predictale rhythm and his routine is maintained, he
egins
to trust the environment. 'f his needs for food, sleep and
odily comfort are predictaly met as they arise, he uses this
satisfaction as the asis to feel secure and to explore his
world.
!0
One child ' oserved spent most of the morning fussing
and crying. The &uide told me it was this child's first day at
the +enter. The unfamiliar place and routine oviously upset
her.
'n sum, the child during the unconscious creation stage uses
the external order to egin uilding his own internal order. 1y
aout three years old, the child has ac.uired his most asic
order and will refine it during the conscious work stage.
2patial order is still critical. %henever ' placed a new
material on the shelf in my early childhood room, ' wondered
how
long it would take efore that new material was noticed.
'nvarialy, the next morning someone would immediately see it
and
ask for a lesson. +hildren have a scanning radar that searches
for any anomaly in their ordered world.
The child wants to understand the complexities of
relationships, creating himself socially. Master classes in
social order were conducted daily in my class anytime three four
and one,half year,olds had snack together, with their highly
evolved in,group language patterns and pecking order.
The child is now interested in refining his sensory input.
#e wants deeper exploration into sameness, differences and
gradations of same and different in o)ects and the environment.
2ensorial activities were always popular in my classroom. 2ome
of the most concentrated, creative work ' witnessed was in the
sensorial extensions, particularly with the five and six
year,olds who comined materials in elaorate patterns covering
most of the floor surface, sometimes for days at a time.
The three year,old is at the height of his ritualistic order$
he still needs routines and yet can egin to create his own
order. This is the perfect time to model that activities have a
eginning, a middle and an end. +hoosing to do the same thing
at
the same time or in the same way is .uite a comfort to this
child. ' saw the phenomenon extensively in my class. One oy '
recall would paint a picture first thing every day for many weeks
in a row. 'f the easel was in use, he would wait patiently
ecause he seemed to orient himself y choosing to paint as his
first activity every day.