Personal
Wouldn’t It Be More Fun…?
A few days ago, I was holding one of my children, who was distressed and melting down. We were sitting together on the couch while they sobbed, and then settled down, and then would remind […]
At Home
Teaching Play
Once you’ve “taught” them how to use something (even accidentally), I notice these things happen: -they start to believe there is a “right” way to play with the toy -they fall into a pattern of […]
Child Development
Sibling “Teaching”
While going through old posts, I found a great exchange in the comments that now I’m turning into its own post… Q: It’s important to me as a parent to let my child play freely […]
Philosophy
It’s OK to Wear Earplugs
This was a game-changer for me, so maybe it will be for you: You’re allowed to wear earplugs. It took until about 2021 for me to confirm something that I had suspected for a long […]
At Home
Everything is Sensory
PSA: Everything is “sensory”! (And, again, like I mentioned yesterday…”sensory” is actually an adjective, not a noun…that’s me being pedantic, but it is something that really indicates to me whether I’m talking to somebody who […]
Autism
Dear Autism
Dear Autism, You are the reason why my little boy gets passionately invested in particular things the way that he does. Ever since he was tiny it has always been this way, because of the […]
Philosophy
The “One Right Thing”
The WHY behind what parenting choices we make matters sometimes maybe even more than WHAT parenting choice we make. About four seconds before bedtime, my then-4yo switched which toy he wanted to bring to bed […]
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 […]
At Home
“Sore Loser”
To speak in very general terms of averages — because that’s all I can talk about, is average child development, not your kid’s specific child development — 5-6 is when children start to really become […]
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 […]