What Legos & Ducks Teach Us About Our Children’s Drive to Learn
It may sound like it was a day in preschool, but it was a group of 22 adults recruited for a study. Each recruit was given five small plastic bags containing six Legos in each one. Four of the Legos...
View ArticleLet Them Play for Academic Success
Did you know the United Nations has actually stated that “every child has the right to play”? I don’t disagree, but I would go a step further. More than simply a “right” to play, our children have a...
View ArticleThe Parent-Child Relationship, Trust, & Your Child’s Future
Trust. Our children need to develop a healthy ability to trust if we want them to have healthy relationships. In psychology, our ability to trust develops based on our relationship to our parents—our...
View ArticleLet the Adventures Begin…To Prevent Anxiety
We have witnessed a dramatic rise in children with depression and anxiety that began even before the COVID pandemic. In fact, anxiety among children increased 27% from 2016 to 2019. Depression...
View ArticleA Special Note to Fathers
Congratulations. Being a father is one of the greatest joys you will ever experience…if you jump all in and get involved. Don’t stand back timidly watching as “the women” do the “baby work.” Jump in....
View ArticleWant Your Child to Listen Better? Then Play!
Children don’t always listen the way we’d like. Who are we kidding? Adults don’t always listen the way we’d like either. In fact, I don’t always listen as attentively as I know I should. Come to think...
View ArticleWhat’s Wrong with Kids Today?
In 2021, the American Academy of Pediatrics, along with the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the Children’s Hospital Association issued a “joint statement to the Biden...
View ArticleDon’t Squelch Your Little Creative Genius
Children are born creative geniuses. At least that’s what a study by George Landis of NASA discovered (Learn more about that study in this TedTalk). He had developed a test for NASA to determine the...
View ArticleFour Shares of a Happy Marriage
To nurture a happy, healthy marriage we have to share. Although it sounds obvious and simple on the surface, it reveals a deeper challenge. Couples naturally share a bed, belongings, and a home, but...
View ArticleTeach Your Children How to “Mind Read”
“Mind reading” is one of the most important skills our children can learn. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not talking about crystal ball stuff or telepathy. I mean developing what psychologists call a “theory...
View ArticleSatisfy the Hunger and Thirst for Play
We are born with 100 billion neurons in our brain… and they are hungry to learn. In fact, they thirst for knowledge from the moment we’re born until we pass away. Surprising to some, one of the most...
View ArticleThe Success of the “Good Enough Parent”
Donald Winnicott, a British pediatrician, coined the term “good enough mother” in the 1950’s. Today, however, many parents fear that “good enough” just isn’t good enough. They strive to become the...
View ArticleThe Work of Children…and Adults
Fred Rogers is credited with saying, “Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.” I agree....
View ArticleThe Power to Overcome
The power to overcome… isn’t that a wonderful gift to give our children? Wouldn’t you love to instill in your children the confidence, intelligence, problem-solving ability, and persistence to...
View ArticleFamily Weapons of Resistance in a World of Division
At first glance our world appears divided and broken beyond repair. Various factions spew words of anger and hatred at one another, words armed with sarcastic ridicule and demeaning labels. Conspiracy...
View Article“Boys Will Be Boys”
If you have sons, you know they can be a handful. They’re constantly on the go and full of energy. In fact, boys are wired to learn through experiential play and activity, especially in their younger...
View ArticleOur Children: Curious or Confident?
Curiosity compels us to explore, to find things out…often with no material reward. We just enjoy learning about those things that arouse our curiosity. Researchers at Columbia’s Zuckerman Institute...
View Article