The Brain Benefits of Free Play
A growing body of research is piling up that begs us to question the firm line we’ve drawn between the playground and the classroom.
Executive Function
Be an Emotion Coach: 6 Simple Steps
Emotion coaching helps kids learn how to manage powerful emotions and turns would-be power struggles into learning opportunities. Whether or not you know it, your children already sees you as their emotion coach. So here are six steps to start honing your coaching skills. Listen. Pay attention to your child or teen. What are they… Read More →
Stress and The Brain
Too Much, Too Little, and the Resilience Sweet Spot
As a culture, we are obsessed with stress and the brain –“Stress Free in 40 Days!”– “Go On Vacation and Leave Stress Behind!” say the advertisements. You can buy stress busters, stress exterminators, and stress eradicators. Yet one out of five children report worrying “a great deal” or “a lot.” Millenials (young adults ages 18-33)… Read More →
How to Build Your Child’s Self-Regulation at The Dining Room Table
“You have to finish what’s on your plate before you can have dessert.” It’s something that many of us likely heard as children, and have possibly even used with our own kids. Wanting our children to learn not to be wasteful (or ungrateful) with their food is understandable, but it turns out that ultimatums like… Read More →
Another Take on the Marshmallow Experiment
Why Trust is a Critical Ingredient in Self-Control
“Moot!” my son exclaimed happily. “More moot!” In order to make sure that he got his message through to me he proudly showed me his empty milk glass. I reassured him that I would return to the dining room with more milk after I checked in on dinner simmering on the stove. For a thirsty… Read More →
3 Ways to Practice Executive Function Skills at Home
We just wrote a post about executive function and how important these skills are for our kids success in school and in life. Here are some tips for giving your kids lots of practice: Help your child build a framework: Helping your child set attainable goals and breaking tasks into achievable steps helps build executive… Read More →
Executive Function: Skills for School and Life
Want your child to succeed in school and life? Then look beyond IQ scores and test results. We’ve written before about the importance of self-discipline, but the story doesn’t end there. A whole host of mental skills—constituting what is called executive function–determine how as opposed to what we learn. Emerging research is clear that these… Read More →
Avoiding Power Struggles With Your Child or Teen
For lots of parents, simple conversations can quickly escalate into a power struggle. As our kids start flexing their own muscles of independence, one of their developmental jobs is to find the outer boundaries of appropriate behavior. How far can I go? Who cares? This is especially true during key developmental windows (namely, the “terrible… Read More →
8 Steps for Setting Limits
We know that setting limits is key to the development of respect, empathy, and self-discipline. That said, setting and enforcing them aren’t always easy. Try these tips to get started: Get real. Remind yourself that it is your child’s job to push against the limits and your job to set them. Some children will push… Read More →
When Siblings Fight
Just last week my (now grown) kids and I were looking through old photo albums. Brian and Erin couldn’t believe how chummy the two of them looked as little kids. There was hardly a picture where they didn’t have their arms around each other or their chubby little hands weren’t tightly clasped. Their sweet little… Read More →