Our Authors

The Little Montessori is created by people with backgrounds in parenting, search, digital publishing, research, and content strategy.

We believe readers should be able to see who is responsible for the content, what each contributor genuinely brings to the site, and where the limits of that experience are.

Our contributors are not presented as Montessori educators, pediatric professionals, psychologists, occupational therapists, or child-development specialists unless they hold verified qualifications in those areas.

Instead, we separate:

  • Professional expertise
  • Personal experience
  • Research-based contribution
  • First-hand product experience where it genuinely exists

That distinction is part of how we keep authorship useful rather than decorative.

Picture of John Puno

John Puno

Editor, SEO Strategist & Parent Contributor

John Puno is a father of four and a digital marketing and SEO professional.

At The Little Montessori, John contributes to:

  • Editorial strategy
  • Product and topic research
  • SEO strategy
  • Content planning
  • Website architecture
  • Internal linking
  • Parent-focused usability
  • Editorial review

His parenting experience also gives him a practical perspective on how toys fit into everyday family life, including setup, storage, space, missing pieces, adult involvement, and whether a child can actually understand and repeat the activity.

That experience is valuable, but it is not presented as professional educational or developmental expertise.

Picture of Chris Balibat

Chris Balibat

Search Research & Content Contributor

Chris Balibat is a search engine specialist with experience in research, search intent, content analysis, and understanding how people look for and compare information online.

His work at The Little Montessori includes:

  • Search research
  • Product research
  • Topic discovery
  • Search-intent analysis
  • Content analysis
  • User-behavior research
  • Content structure
  • Editorial quality

Chris also has a personal interest in human psychology and decision-making. That interest helps inform how he thinks about user questions and buying uncertainty, but it is not presented as a professional psychology qualification.

Outside work, Chris enjoys anime, video games, motorcycle riding, and reading children's books with his nephew.

How We Approach Authorship

A name on a page should reflect real editorial responsibility.

Depending on the content, a contributor may be involved through:

  • Writing
  • Research
  • Product analysis
  • First-hand experience
  • Editorial review
  • Search-intent analysis
  • Content planning
  • Updating existing information

We do not add extra author or reviewer names simply to create E-E-A-T signals.

If someone genuinely reviews a page, that role may be identified. If they did not, we should not imply otherwise.

First-Hand Experience Is Identified Separately

Some content may eventually include products that John, Chris, or another contributor has genuinely handled or used.

When that experience is relevant, it may support observations about:

  • Setup
  • Materials
  • Size
  • Storage
  • Noise
  • Construction
  • Ease of use
  • Practical limitations

When a product has not been personally tested, the content should remain clearly research-based.

Our review methodology explains how we separate hands-on experience from editorial research.

Expertise Should Match the Claim

Different questions require different forms of expertise.

John’s parenting experience can help surface practical family questions.

His professional background supports areas such as SEO, digital publishing, site architecture, and content strategy.

Chris’s background supports search research, user intent, topic analysis, and content evaluation.

Neither background should be stretched into credentials they do not hold.

Where content requires specialist information about Montessori education, child development, product safety, or another expert field, we aim to use appropriate authoritative sources rather than relying on an unrelated credential.

Editorial Responsibility

All contributors are expected to follow The Little Montessori’s editorial standards.

That includes:

  • Distinguishing research from personal experience
  • Avoiding unsupported developmental claims
  • Using Montessori terminology carefully
  • Verifying important product claims where possible
  • Discussing meaningful limitations
  • Maintaining accurate internal linking
  • Avoiding unnecessary content duplication
  • Disclosing relevant commercial relationships
  • Correcting meaningful errors

You can read more about those standards in our Editorial Policy and Corrections & Updates Policy.