At School
Let Them Be 5
There is no need to borrow worry from the future. And that’s exactly what this kind of thinking is: it’s borrowing worry. 5 year olds are not just future adults. They are also present 5 […]
Child Development
Child Development
Things We Don’t Know
“Sometimes, my son asks me a question. If I tell him I don’t know the answer—and I truly don’t know the answer—he’ll get mad and protest, ‘you DO know!’ How do I explain to him […]
At Home
Diagnosing
If a child called “oppositionally defiant” could label the adults in their life, what kinds of things might they call them? Needlessly antagonistic? Endlessly demanding? Perhaps their adults themselves would receive the diagnosis of ODD […]
At Home
The Dividing Line
When you start to understand how thin — or nonexistent! — the dividing line is between “playing” and “learning/growing”, suddenly so much more of what children do makes sense. And suddenly so much more of […]
Child Development
Reflections on Christmas Eve
Hey! This post is going to be about Jesus, and child development, and the kind of Christianity I grew up in, that I’ve moved away from, and where I see myself now. I recognize that […]
Babies
Three Scenarios
Imagine three scenarios. You’re holding your child on your lap. Your child is sobbing and screaming at the top of their lungs, curled up against you. In one scenario, they have just tripped, fallen, and […]
At Home
At, Above, Below
Kids need room to play, unimpeded and unhelped, on materials that are at their level and above their level and below their level of ability to climb and interact with. They interact with things at […]
At Home
Five Rules
This is what goes through my head when I decide if I need to say “no” to something. (…on a good day, on a regulated day, when I’m parenting consciously…not just responding out of habit) […]
Activities
Different Things to Different Children
I wanted to give an example of how the same activity/craft/invitation to play can mean different things to different children (who are at different stages of development and therefore are exploring different things through their […]