Children’s job/work is PLAY! Play has been proven to be the best way for children to learn, not only for language development but also cognitive and physical development. Instead of pressuring our children to sit down and “work,” we as parents and caregivers need to stop what we are doing and become the child’s “co-worker” and play with them.
With this new school year comes new experiences for our children – new peers, new teachers, new environment. For many of our sensory unique students, this transition back to school can be a difficult one.
From a child development and sensory point of view, there is nothing our therapy kids enjoy more than designing and going through an obstacle course. Obstacle courses are a way of reaching many different goal areas within a very short period of time while having a lot of fun.
Way back in the Olden Days, say the 1980’s and before (insert groan here), children did not have the access to the electronic distractions they do now. Yes, there was TV, but if you go not much further back, the access to kids’ shows was much more limited. So, kids naturally went elsewhere for their entertainment, mainly to friends, family, hobbies and OUTSIDE.
Mindfulness is a word I’m sure you’ve heard in recent years. It’s often used in conjunction with exercises intended to achieve happiness in your life, decrease stress and anxiety and improve personal wellbeing. But what exactly is Mindfulness? And how can we use it to help our children whose emotional turmoil impacts their daily lives?
Recently, I was having a discussion with some of the clinic staff about the concept of “screen time,” – the time we spend involved with electronic screens such as TV, computers, phones, tablets, gaming systems, DVD’s – and the changes they have made in our culture. More specifically, we were discussing the physical and behavioral changes as a result, and the potential effects they have on children.
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