What would Montessori say about screen time?

One of the most common questions parents ask is, “What does Montessori education think about screen time?” It’s a fair question in a world where digital devices are everywhere: from the tablet used to keep a toddler calm at a cafe, to the smartboards now becoming commonplace in the kindy classrooms. Screens are part of modern life. But what role should they genuinely play in childhood?

The truth is, Montessori didn’t live in the age of tablets, TikTok or YouTube so we don’t really know. But her work gives us a clear indicator because, at its heart, Montessori education is about real, hands-on experiences when navigating our world. Experiences that involve movement, connection, concentration and purposeful activity; things that don’t tend to happen when a child is passively watching a screen.

In a Montessori classroom, you tend not to find screens or digital toys, not because technology is “bad,” but because it simply doesn’t serve the developmental needs of young children. Montessori environments are carefully designed to support concentration, movement, independence and an authentic connection to real life.

Maria Montessori observed that young children learn through doing. They explore the world with their hands, their senses, and their whole bodies. When a toddler pours water, buttons their shirt or scrubs a table, they’re not just keeping busy, they’re building neural pathways for coordination, focus and self-regulation. When they interact with others, resolve small conflicts, or sit quietly absorbed in a puzzle, they’re learning the foundations of social and emotional intelligence.

Screens, by contrast, often take children out of their environment. Instead of being active participants, they become passive observers. Montessori would likely argue that screen-based entertainment short-circuits many of the learning experiences children need to develop naturally.

Dr Mark Williams, an Australian neuroscientist and author of The Connected Species, offers a compelling scientific view that supports Montessori thinking. His research focuses on how human brains are wired for connection: face-to-face, body-to-body and voice-to-voice connection. Children are social learners. They grow, regulate and make sense of the world in relationship with others.

Screens, he warns, interrupt those vital connections. In early childhood, brain development depends on rich, interactive experiences, especially those involving movement, real-world problem-solving and emotional attunement from caregivers. When children spend too much time in front of screens, those experiences are often replaced with stillness, overstimulation and a lack of true engagement.

Dr Williams doesn’t just highlight what children miss out on with screen time; he shows how screens can actively interfere with healthy development. Dopamine hits from fast-paced visuals can reduce attention span. Constant digital input can dysregulate sleep patterns, impact language development, and lead to difficulties with emotional regulation and executive function.

This ties directly into Montessori’s emphasis on concentration and self-discipline. A child who spends their early years immersed in hands-on, meaningful tasks builds the neurological foundation for deep thinking. A child fed a steady diet of screen-based stimulation struggles to focus, problem-solve or entertain themselves without a device. The art of boredom and finding new and exciting things to do is dying.

Why less is more: The theory behind the practice

Montessori identified sensitive periods in early childhood; windows of time when children are especially receptive to learning certain skills, like language, movement, order and social behaviour. These periods are time-sensitive and need to be nurtured through real-world experiences. Screens can disrupt this by offering a kind of “shortcut” to engagement, without the deep learning that comes from physical interaction. 

For example:

• Language development happens best through conversation, storytelling, and back-and-forth interaction, not from passively listening to cartoons.
• Motor skills develop through climbing, stacking, pouring, and manipulating materials, not from tapping a screen.
• Executive function and things like planning, attention and emotional regulation are built through patient problem-solving, trial and error and learning from mistakes in real time.

This doesn’t mean all screens must be banned, or that you’re failing as a parent if your child watches Bluey. But Montessori teaches us to be intentional. To observe. To ask, “What is my child gaining from this experience?” and “Is there a more meaningful alternative?”

Prioritise real-world interaction
Make sure screen time doesn’t replace time outdoors, creative play or meaningful tasks like cooking, cleaning or gardening alongside you and other family members.

Choose purposeful content
If you do use screens, pick high-quality, slow-paced content that encourages conversation. Watch together and discuss what’s happening. Co-viewing is far more beneficial than solo viewing. There was a time many years ago in my early years of teaching a cycle one classroom where we actively used screens, via the BoM (Bureau of Meteorology) “rain radar” website. We would access this website to determine if we could play outside after rest, or if rain was incoming. We studied the cloud types online, then went outside to observe and draw them in real life. Purposeful, with real-world connection. 

Avoid screens during sensitive moments
Skip screens during meals, car rides and especially before bedtime. These are important times for connection, rest, or calm, not stimulation.

Offer alternatives
When your child is bored, instead of reaching for the iPad, offer something real: a bowl of water and a sponge, a basket of buttons to sort, or a household job to do. Children love being included in real tasks when they feel capable and valued.

Be the model
Children learn from what we do, not just what we say. If we’re always on our phones, they notice. Set boundaries around your own screen use, especially during time together. This is a hard cycle to break, but an important one to really combat.

The gift of being present

Both Montessori and Dr Mark Williams point to something powerful: children need presence, our presence, and to be attuned to their own. They need to feel present in their bodies, present within their environment and present in their relationships. They need to be seen, heard and play an active part in the real world around them.

Montessori reminds us that childhood isn’t something to be rushed or filled with entertainment. It’s a time for wonder, curiosity and real work with real things. It’s a time for play, for baking muffins, for planting seeds and watching them grow, for watching ants marching by and asking endless questions. So if you’re wondering what Montessori would say about screen time, I think the answer is simple: 

Less screen, more real.

More connection. More movement. 

More purpose. More life.