When it comes to parenting, some mornings are easier than others. Last week, my son broke into defiant tears and shouts more than once as I rushed him out the door to get to preschool on time. He didn’t want to put on his shoes, he didn’t want […]
Originally published in the Washington Post on May 20, 2016. When my daughter got home from school yesterday, she made a cozy nest of pillows, pulled out her crayons and started to draw. “Mommy,” she complained, “the music is too loud. I need to focus.” To which her […]
Young children are naturally curious. They have an itch to explore their world and figure out how things work. And parents have compelling reasons to foster this inherent inquisitiveness. Curiosity is tied to academic achievement, with research showing “unequivocally that when people are curious about something, they learn […]
Before leaving for preschool this morning, my four-year-old checked on her jar of ladybug larvae, watered her little flower garden and shared a bagel with her little brother. She may not know the term, but she was practicing empathy. Empathy is a skill – one that we can cultivate […]
Ever notice how kids often have more fun playing with an empty box than with what was inside of it? That’s their imagination at work, and as parents, we should not underestimate how vital it is to nurture this creative spirit. Creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson explains that […]
In a GPS world, where synthesized voices tell us when to turn to get from point A to point B, do kids really need to learn how to read a map? Absolutely. While many skills have become obsolete in the digital age, map reading remains an important tool […]
Children’s brains are hard-wired for empathy. Research suggests that most humans have an innate capacity to step into another person’s shoes and respond to their emotions. The real question, says child psychologist Richard Weissbourd, is not whether kids are kind but to whom. “Almost all kids are kind […]
