At Home
Schema Quiz
I have a guessing game called, “Which of these ‘behaviors’ is actually a sign of developmentally appropriate schema play in toddlers and babies?” (if you don’t know what schema play is, I’ll explain in just […]
Philosophy
Personal
Five Things from My Book I Wish Every Grown-Up Knew
#5 – Culture does not dictate children’s development. Just because a teacher, grandparent, friend, book, or person on the internet thinks your child “ought to be ready by now” does not necessarily mean that they […]
At Home
Behavior Is Communication…On Purpose!
A year ago, my children, who were 5 and 6 at the time, had similar-aged friends come over to the house. The four of them all played together, running around the house and roughhousing. One […]
At Home
Dysregulation at Home
During one of the recent snow days home, my kids were getting really sick of being cooped up inside and struggling to be able to play with one another successfully. They both needed more space […]
At School
Push Them To Breaking…
(All I’m doing in this post is describing adult/child interactions that I observed, but I want to give you a heads up that it’s kind of infuriating. I think that’s important to share and to […]
Elementary
Ten Ways – Toothbrushing
Ten things I could’ve done when my kid didn’t want to brush her teeth… Nonverbal cue: Set the toothbrush down next to my kid. Toothpaste already loaded. Wordlessly. Offer alternatives: Mouthwash, floss, a different flavor […]
At Home
One Thing Different
Bedtime has been rough for… Well, let me back up. Bedtime has been out of whack in general for like, six weeks now. But bedtime has been especially bad and full of tears and yelling […]
Personal
The Sensory Weight of Disability
The sensory weight of disability. It’s the way it feels like I had barely learned how to take care of myself without self invalidation. It’s the way that all of my feel-good strategies involve making […]
Babies
Slowing Down to Understand
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 […]
Elementary
When Speaking is Hard
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 […]