Elementary
Trying to Cry
People of all ages sometimes seek out crying when they need it, because crying can be very healing and stress-relieving. Adults might put on a sad movie, listen to music that holds a lot of […]
Social/Emotional
At Home
When One Sibling is “Right” and One Sibling is “Playing”
I wrote a post about myself, an adult, not freaking out when my children said things that were factually incorrect because I knew they were playing at having that skill. Like pretending to read a […]
Activities
Big Kids Play Too
This is another one of my “big kid” room setups as I lean heavily this year into trying to continue to practice child-led play-based therapy, even with older children (9-15ish). It’s easier for me to […]
At Home
Regulation Mirrors
Have you been trying to offer your child coping strategies when they’re in the middle of a meltdown and not been having a lot of success? If so, I have a couple of questions for […]
Babies
Corrections to Corrections
Sometimes I get stuck in awkward situations with other adults where the other adult feels like they need to correct a child in some way that feels wrong to me. It might be exacerbated by […]
At Home
Case Study: Sensory Mismatch in Play
I’ve written before about “sensory mismatch”. It’s one of the hardest things for people with vastly different sensory profiles to be able to get along with each other in stressful circumstances. Let me tell you […]
At Home
Violent Themes in Play
Some adults get alarmed when they hear children using language that sounds “violent” or involves themes of morality, such as “good guys” and “bad guys”. They may want to explain to the child that morality […]
At School
A Dinosaur Pants Connection
Routines helped this lil guy make sense of an often nonsensical world around him. And especially on the first week of school, he needed some help making sense of everything. “Change diaper” was a routine […]
At Home
Turn Arguing into Play
A little moment from my life: The kids (5 and 4) ran to get in the car. They began arguing: Apollo: I got here first! Summer: No, I got here first! Apollo: No, I got […]
At Home
Naming the Subtext
This post has an audio and video recorded version for those who prefer to learn by hearing rather than by reading. Scroll to the bottom for the video of me reading it. You know, one […]