Up until recently, playing outside was just what kids did. It’s where they created their own games, rules, learned how to interact with other kids. Today, we are experiencing a significant move to an indoor childhood. But that shift doesn’t come without…
Playing through the greenery and litter of a mini forest’s undergrowth for just one month may be enough to change a child’s immune system, according to a small new experiment. When daycare workers in Finland rolled out a lawn, planted…
The first weekend of quarantine, my daughters took sidewalk chalk, made a hopscotch board in our building’s courtyard, and spent over an hour in blustery March weather jumping with glee, their hair whipping in the wind. Over the last few…
Children’s behavior may suffer from lack of access to outdoor space, a problem heightened by the pandemic. LaToya Jordan and her family have no green space by their Brooklyn apartment. So she, like many other New Yorkers, relies on the…
With protests over the violent deaths of black Americans dominating the news, it’s understandable that many kids are feeling scared, confused or angry about the situation. How can parents, many of whom are struggling themselves, help children process what they’re…
Two of the most popular posts on this blog in recent years were written by a pediatric occupational therapist on the importance of play and the consequences of not allowing children to get up and move during their school day….
We know we’re not supposed to yell at our children. But parents are very stressed at the moment, and frustration and anger are inevitable. Overwhelmed with everything you’ve been asked to do, you find yourself losing your temper at kids…
This week the majority of children across the UK are not in school. Instead, they’re at home, many of them under the care of parents who are expected to work at the same time.https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-just-letting-children-play-will-help-them-and-their-parents-cope-134480
First, acknowledge ways the coronavirus has changed their lives. When I spoke to her for last week’s newsletter about long-term effects of the coronavirus pandemic on children, Rahil Briggs, Psy.D., mentioned the metaphor of the dandelion and the orchid. It’s a theory developed…
Parents worry far too much about their preschoolers’ academic performance. They sign kids up for reading enrichment activities, music lessons, dance classes, organized play dates, museum camp, and more, all in hopes of their children getting an upper hand when real school…