When something uncomfortable—like something for medical health and safety—has to happen for a child, it’s often adults’ instinct to try to do it as fast as possible, to get it over with. (After all, it would be kind of barbaric to extend an uncomfortable or painful experience when it could be sped up and then … Read more
We have been watching a lot of hotel TV these past couple of weeks. At home, we really only watch stuff on streaming services; the kids have never had live TV before, so there have been some new enthralling things to watch and some old favorites. I remain convinced that Bluey is genuinely in a … Read more
There have been quite a lot of times in my adult life when I’ve needed to talk to my husband about something but been unable to speak about it. Some of those times, the words have just lived inside of me. I think about them over and over, or maybe even make plans to say … Read more
“We have to leave the park in five minutes.” “How about six?” “You need to work on this for ten minutes.” “No, I choose nine!” What do you say next? Do you dig your heels in? Fight for that sixty seconds? That sixty grumpy, angry, dysregulated seconds, that might just poison the whole thing? I … Read more
The class finishes watching an age-appropriate video about reptiles and mammals. The teacher says, “Okay everybody, let’s take out our science journals and write one sentence to answer this question: What are some differences between reptiles and mammals?” What the curriculum hopes to assess is: Does the student understand the difference between reptiles and mammals? … Read more
I became a parent on about 24 hours’ notice. We flew from the state where we lived to the state where my son was born in time to take him home from the hospital. Legalities mandated we couldn’t leave the state until one set of paperwork was done, so we had to stay in a … Read more
Three scenarios about my children (5 and 4) (fictionalized, but compiled from real scenarios) and the way that parenting shifts based on what actually happens…instead of what I might imagine will happen. *** Summer: I’m a scary monster and you run away from me. Apollo: OK. AAAAH!!!!! Scary monster! Summer: (super offended) NO! I’m not a … Read more
Here is the basic difference between an IEP and a 504 plan in the United States. They are both types of support that children with disabilities or special educational needs can be given in the United States. They both are legal documents, drafted with a public school, that tell the school what support the child … Read more
In adulthood, I am actively working on increasing my own interoception (sense of my inner body)…on listening to my body and what it needs. More often than not, I used to ignore my body telling me that it is hungry. Or telling me that it needs to go to the bathroom. Or telling me that … Read more
We do not need to decide when our kids “need” to learn to count and write. If they see us modeling counting and writing authentically, they will be interested in it and pursue it when their brains are ready to figure it out. Count things when things need to be counted! Count them out loud … Read more