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 […]
co-regulation
At School
First, Then
Imagine that you sit down to watch a movie. You pop yourself a bowl of popcorn to go with it…maybe your favorite toppings, whether salt and butter or marshmallow or Parmesan cheese or something else…you […]
At Home
My Brain Won’t Stop
One thing went wrong. And it led to another. And it was too many things. And he was MAD. I carried him into his room so that we would have a safe space to melt […]
Babies
Feeling All The Feelings Webinar (Hosted by Neurodiversity Ireland)
As more and more parents, caregivers, and adults start undertaking the work of helping the next generation of children feel safe to express their feelings rather than repeat unhealthy habits from the past, it can […]
At School
Packaged Regulation
A lot of public schools in the US, and at least some in the UK near where I live, have begun figuring out how they can teach social-emotional skills and things like self-regulation and coping […]
At School
Clumsy Self-Advocacy
Recently I had an OT session with a child who I’ve known for many years. They were unusually irritable and on-edge, and at one point they were so frustrated with what they were trying to […]
At Home
Processing Scary Things
There’s an episode of Bluey called Space. In it, three little boys are playing together at their kindergarten. They’re playing pretend space explorers. As they navigate who is going to play what role in the […]
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 […]
At Home
Perfection
Age 5 (and 6) is extremely concerned with perfection. It’s a normal developmental phase. (Yes, this might also mean that your 4 year old or 4.5 year old or 7 year old are like this. […]
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 […]