--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Indeed there are powers in the small…" description: "\"Indeed there are powers in the small child that are far greater than is generally realized, because it is in this period that the construction, the bui..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/633/maria-montessori-709_birth_indeed-there-are-powers-in-the-small-chi_2960123.png" --- # Indeed there are powers in the small child that are far… ![“Indeed there are powers in the small child that are far greater than is generally realized, because it is in this period that the construction, the building-up, of man takes place, for at birth, psychically speaking, there is nothing at all - zero!” quote by Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/633/maria-montessori-709_birth_indeed-there-are-powers-in-the-small-chi_2960123.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/633/maria-montessori-709_birth_indeed-there-are-powers-in-the-small-chi_2960123.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/633/maria-montessori-709_birth_indeed-there-are-powers-in-the-small-chi_2960123.png) > “Indeed there are powers in the small child that are far greater than is generally realized, because it is in this period that the construction, the building-up, of man takes place, for at birth, psychically speaking, there is nothing at all - zero!” [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Children possess immense developmental potential; early experiences shape their psychological foundation from a blank slate. **In simple terms:** Children have great potential; early years shape them. Key Takeaway Invest in nurturing early environments. Themes education development potential Mood hopeful concerned Type inspirational educational When to use this quote - parenting - early education - policy making - community programs Key Concepts psychology early childhood growth Questions to Reflect On - How can societies better support early childhood development? - What barriers prevent children from realizing this potential? A Different Perspective Potential may be limited by socioeconomic constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) [Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Construction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/construction/) [Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man/) [Nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nothing/) [Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/powers/) [Small child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-child/) ## Related quotes > [We must ensure that every single child can go as far as their ability and their aspirations will take them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-rayner/we-must-ensure-that-every-single-child-can-go-as-far-as-their-ability/) [Angela Rayner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-rayner/) > [A Christian home! What a power it is to the child when he is far away in the cold, tempting world, and voices of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbott-eliot-kittredge/a-christian-home-what-a-power-it-is-to-the-child-when-he-is-far-away/) [Abbott Eliot Kittredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbott-eliot-kittredge/) > [...I'll continue to see things as a child. It's not so far to fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/i-ll-continue-to-see-things-as-a-child-it-s-not-so-far-to-fall/) [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) > [What we are teaches the child far more than what we say, so we must be what we want our children to become.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-chilton-pearce/what-we-are-teaches-the-child-far-more-than-what-we-say-so-we-must-be/) [Joseph Chilton Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-chilton-pearce/) > [“The girl child has by far left behind the boy child because the girl child is aggresive, very aggresive”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-manan-nyambala/the-girl-child-has-by-far-left-behind-the-boy-child-because-the-girl/) Victor Manan Nyambala > [Bumble-Ardy is a very wicked little child as far as I'm concerned. He's not to be trusted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/bumble-ardy-is-a-very-wicked-little-child-as-far-as-i-m-concerned-he/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [I would prefer to keep my child as far away from the entertainment industry as I possibly can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-wayne-callies/i-would-prefer-to-keep-my-child-as-far-away-from-the-entertainment/) [Sarah Wayne Callies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-wayne-callies/) > [The education of even a small child, therefore, does not aim at preparing him for school, but for life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/the-education-of-even-a-small-child-therefore-does-not-aim-at/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [Sometimes very small children in a proper environment develop a skill and exactness in their work that can only surprise us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/sometimes-very-small-children-in-a-proper-environment-develop-a-skill/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [Children have an anxious concern for living beings, and the satisfaction of this instinct fills them with delight. It is therefore easy to interest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/children-have-an-anxious-concern-for-living-beings-and-the/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [The greatness of the human personality begins at the hour of birth. From this almost mystic affirmation there comes what may seem a strange…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/the-greatness-of-the-human-personality-begins-at-the-hour-of-birth/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [The serpent, the king, the tiger, the stinging wasp, the small child, the dog owned by other people, and the fool: these seven ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chanakya/the-serpent-the-king-the-tiger-the-stinging-wasp-the-small-child-the/) [Chanakya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chanakya/) > [I can say, particularly as a mother of four small children. I can talk about the coarsening of our culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellyanne-conway/i-can-say-particularly-as-a-mother-of-four-small-children-i-can-talk/) [Kellyanne Conway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellyanne-conway/) > [“It never ceased to amaze him how quickly a small child's face could turn from peach to beetroot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/it-never-ceased-to-amaze-him-how-quickly-a-small-child-s-face-could/) [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) > [Having small children and being an investigative reporter would seem like a difficult mix, but it worked well for me. I was often working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-abramson/having-small-children-and-being-an-investigative-reporter-would-seem/) [Jill Abramson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-abramson/) ## More by Maria Montessori > [Plainly, the environment must be a living one, directed by a higher intelligence, arranged by an adult who is prepared for his mission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/plainly-the-environment-must-be-a-living-one-directed-by-a-higher/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [To assist a child we must provide him with an environment which will enable him to develop freely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/to-assist-a-child-we-must-provide-him-with-an-environment-which-will/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [Imitation is the first instinct of the awakening mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/imitation-is-the-first-instinct-of-the-awakening-mind/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [The undisciplined child enters into discipline by working in the company of others; not being told he is naughty.” “Discipline is, therefore, primarily a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/the-undisciplined-child-enters-into-discipline-by-working-in-the/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [When you have solved the problem of controlling the attention of the child, you have solved the entire problem of its education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/when-you-have-solved-the-problem-of-controlling-the-attention-of-the/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [It is exactly in the repetition of the exercises that the education of the senses exists; not that the child shall know colors, forms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/it-is-exactly-in-the-repetition-of-the-exercises-that-the-education/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [Adults look upon a child as something empty that is to be filled through their own efforts, as something inert and helpless for which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/adults-look-upon-a-child-as-something-empty-that-is-to-be-filled/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [The observation of the way in which the children pass from the first disordered movements to those which are spontaneous and ordered -- this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/the-observation-of-the-way-in-which-the-children-pass-from-the-first/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [The teacher's task is not a small easy one! She has to prepare a huge amount of knowledge to satisfy the child's mental hunger.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/the-teacher-s-task-is-not-a-small-easy-one-she-has-to-prepare-a-huge/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [Education is a work of self-organization by which man adapts himself to the conditions of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/education-is-a-work-of-self-organization-by-which-man-adapts-himself/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [The possibility of observing the developments of the psychical life of the child as natural phenomena and experimental reactions transforms the school itself in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/the-possibility-of-observing-the-developments-of-the-psychical-life/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [Never help a child with a task that they feel they can complete themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/never-help-a-child-with-a-task-that-they-feel-they-can-complete/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [It is not the child as a physical but as a psychic being that can provide a strong impetus to the betterment of mankind.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/it-is-not-the-child-as-a-physical-but-as-a-psychic-being-that-can/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [By the age of three, the child has already laid down the foundations of his personality as a human being, and only then does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/by-the-age-of-three-the-child-has-already-laid-down-the-foundations/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [Rewards and punishments, to speak frankly, are the desk of the soul, that is, a means of enslaving a child's spirit, and better suited…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/rewards-and-punishments-to-speak-frankly-are-the-desk-of-the-soul/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) [Explore all 397 Maria Montessori quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) ## More Birth quotes > [“Conception is the beginning of human life. From the time that an ovum is fertilized a new life begins that is neither that of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declaration-on-procured-abortion-congregation-for-the-doctrine-of-the-faith-1974/conception-is-the-beginning-of-human-life-from-the-time-that-an-ovum/) Declaration on Procured Abortion Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith 1974 > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The greatest mystery in life is not life itself, but death. Death is the culmination of life, the ultimate blossoming of life. In death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/the-greatest-mystery-in-life-is-not-life-itself-but-death-death-is/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delay/guns-have-little-or-nothing-to-do-with-juvenile-violence-the-causes/) [Tom DeLay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delay/) > [“Every child is born as angel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-child-is-born-as-angel/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Nirvana is a word that means enlightenment, being beyond the illusion of birth and death, the illusion of pain, the illusion of love, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/nirvana-is-a-word-that-means-enlightenment-being-beyond-the-illusion/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [It was no accident, no coincidence, that the seasons came round and round year after year. It was the Lord speaking to us all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-rivers/it-was-no-accident-no-coincidence-that-the-seasons-came-round-and/) [Francine Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-rivers/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) > [Always keep the smile, because the smile is the beginning of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-imad/always-keep-the-smile-because-the-smile-is-the-beginning-of-love/) Adam Imad > [The wailing of the newborn infant is mingled with the dirge for the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretius/the-wailing-of-the-newborn-infant-is-mingled-with-the-dirge-for-the/) [Lucretius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretius/) > [I gave birth to most of them MC's... So when it comes around to the month of May, Send me your royalty check for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxanne-shante/i-gave-birth-to-most-of-them-mc-s-so-when-it-comes-around-to-the/) Roxanne Shante > [“A Beautiful verse takes birth when "U"n"I" VERSE.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajesh-walecha/a-beautiful-verse-takes-birth-when-u-n-i-verse/) [Rajesh Walecha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajesh-walecha/) > [“There is no born evil, only a corruptible canvas darkened by a formidable perpetrator.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yefon-isabelle/there-is-no-born-evil-only-a-corruptible-canvas-darkened-by-a/) [Yefon Isabelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yefon-isabelle/) > [I've always thought that the most extraordinary special effect you could do is to buy a child at the moment of its birth, sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-ve-always-thought-that-the-most-extraordinary-special-effect-you/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) [Browse all 6,183 Birth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Indeed there are powers in the small child that are far greater than is generally realized, because it is in this period that the construction, the building-up, of man takes place, for at birth, psychically speaking, there is nothing at all - zero!", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Maria Montessori" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/indeed-there-are-powers-in-the-small-child-that-are-far-greater-than/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Birth" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/indeed-there-are-powers-in-the-small-child-that-are-far-greater-than/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/633/maria-montessori-709_birth_indeed-there-are-powers-in-the-small-chi_2960123.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/633/maria-montessori-709_birth_indeed-there-are-powers-in-the-small-chi_2960123.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/633/maria-montessori-709_birth_indeed-there-are-powers-in-the-small-chi_2960123.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Indeed there are powers in the small child that are far greater than is generally realized, because it is in…” — Maria Montessori", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Maria Montessori", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Indeed there are powers in the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/indeed-there-are-powers-in-the-small-child-that-are-far-greater-than/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/indeed-there-are-powers-in-the-small-child-that-are-far-greater-than/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```