Maria Montessori's advanced understanding of tantrums

A popular news story on the web this week is about a scientific study on tantrums, such as NPR's What's Behind A Temper Tantrum? Scientists Deconstruct The Screams. However, all the scientists really did was quantitatively measure the screams and sobs and didn't really uncover what was "behind" the tantrums as the NPR title suggests.

In contrast, Dr. Maria Montessori made, a century ago, several qualitative scientific observations about tantrums:

1. Young children have a "sense of order" such as spatial order, and when this order is violated, such as if a commonly-used object has been moved to an unusual location, then a tantrum may ensue. This is why a Montessori Primary classroom has shelves with materials that remain in the same place every day -- placement of materials on shelves is not arbitrary.
2. Children have "sensitive periods" of development, where a child is open to developing particular capacities such as walking, language, sensory skills, fine motor skills, etc. During these sensitive periods, the child craves to develop these skills and abilities, and if that need is not met, it can result in tantrums.
3. Children crave to imitate adults, to "do it themselves", and when denied tantrums result.

For these reasons, three-year-olds starting out in a Montessori Primary classroom are given the "exercises of practical life". These exercises are not as captivating to the adult eye as some of the unique math materials that Dr. Montessori also created, but they very cleverly address each of the three points above:

1. The practical life exercises are kept in the same place on the same shelves every day.
2. The practical life exercises develop the fine and gross motor skills, which is a sensitive period for that age.
3. The practical life exercises provide the children dignity to perform the same work that adults do.