Why not let them walk to school alone? Parents and communities are figuring out ways to give their children more independence—and it just may help them to become less anxious, more self-reliant adults. https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-overprotected-american-child-1527865038 (Wall Street Journal subscription required)
Most American kids don’t spend large chunks of their day catching salamanders and poking sticks into piles of fox poop. In a nation moving toward greater standardization of its public-education system, programs centered around getting kids outside to explore aren’t…
As parents, we want our children to be emotionally resilient — able to handle life’s ups and downs. But parents’ ability to foster resilience in our children hinges a great deal on our own emotional resilience. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/28/well/family/to-raise-resilient-kids-be-a-resilient-parent.html?smid=pl-share
Benefits of early education found to persist for years, bolstering graduation, reducing retention, and reducing special education placements. www.gse.harvard.edu/news/uk/17/11/lasting-payoff-early-ed
It’s a brisk winter morning in New York City and a class of bubbly preschoolers have burst into Room 5 of the Brooklyn Heights Montessori School for a period of free play. Amid an explosion of drawing, coloring, and play-dough…
Pity the poor parent whose child is throwing a public tantrum. No, don’t come up with a list of excellent parenting strategies that you’re quite sure would have averted this unhappy scene. And don’t use it as an opportunity to…
It was a typical consult request — challenging behaviors. The message on my phone: “We just are not sure what to do with this group of children! They just seem to tear apart the room. They are disruptive at circle…
Matt Hannon was in preschool when he started getting into trouble. Teachers quickly labeled his mischievous behavior — like cutting his hair under the table — problematic. His kindergarten teacher warned that if Matt didn’t stop using “potty words,” she…
Last year, my son Finn came home from school and announced that he wanted to play the French horn. Naturally, I signed him up. A few weeks later, we got an email from the music director politely letting us know…
Standing at the creek’s edge, my son carefully drops his wooden boat into the water. He follows his classmates along the banks, guiding their boats with the attached knitted string, a small parade of colorful sails and bright rubber boots. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/parenting/wp/2017/08/18/why-kids-deserve-a-preschool-that-lets-them-play/?utm_term=.6d7ae1b467dd