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Play is a universal, natural, and pleasurable experience. Children in all societies engage in play … However, because play is linked to major characteristics of all cultures … the contemporary view of play is that it is both a universal and culture-specific activity.

Does your child have enough free time or “downtime” to engage in unstructured independent play? These days, parents feel obliged to fill up their children’s lives with enrichment and educational activities. Having a variety of interesting activities to participate in is beneficial for your child, however, too many structured activities can sometimes have unintended or negative consequences. Children need free and unstructured time on their own where they can choose what to do and how to do it.

Most parents understand that playing with a 3-year-old is not the same as playing with a 10-year-old. Children change and develop so quickly and it can be difficult for parents to keep up and understand how to play in different ways as their child grows.

What is self-regulation? Self-regulation, or emotional regulation, is a hugely important skill for children to learn and develop (adults too!) and it means understanding and managing your behaviors and reactions to strong feelings. Self-regulation is necessary for learning and getting along with others. It includes being able to resist highly emotional […]

Your child runs up to you and demands, “Play with me!” You are in the middle of writing an email. You also have a list a mile long of all the things you need to do today. This is so typical of your life these days. There is just never enough time in a day to do all the things you want to … In the end, you feel guilty when you think you are not devoting enough time to playing with your child. This is a very common situation for most parents and it doesn’t feel good! In this Blog, I want to give you some ideas for parent-child play that may provide you with some information and lessen these uncomfortable feelings.