Play
Why Play Is the Primary Way Young Children Learn
The idea that play and learning are separate — that children play when they are not learning, and learn when they are not playing — is one of the most...
2 min read
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Showing articles tagged with: #early-childhood
13 articles found
Play
What Building Play Develops in Early Childhood
When a 2-year-old knocks over a tower for the fifteenth time and starts rebuilding, they aren't just playing — they're running one of the highest-yiel...
8 min read
Play
The Role of Technology in Early Childhood Play
The American Academy of Pediatrics is unusually specific about screens for young kids: under 18 months, video chat only (calls with grandparents count...
6 min read
Play
Singing and Dancing as Active Play
A parent who can hold a tune is no advantage over a parent who can't, when the audience is a 14-month-old. The thing that holds babies' attention isn'...
7 min read
Play
Why Play Is the Primary Language of Early Childhood
A 2-year-old who can barely string three words together can run a 20-minute pretend hospital. The reason: spoken language is one of the slowest things...
5 min read
Family Life
Sibling Relationships in Early Childhood
The most thorough body of work on early sibling relationships comes from Judy Dunn at Cambridge and a generation of researchers (Howe, Volling, Brody,...
7 min read
Emotions
Psychological Support in Early Childhood
A common worry holds parents back from seeking help for a young child: she's too little, she'll grow out of it, real therapy is for older kids. None o...
5 min read
Emotions
Emotions and Personality Formation in Early Childhood
By the end of the first year, most parents can describe their baby's "personality" in a sentence or two — the bold one who wriggles toward every stran...
4 min read
Emotions
Emotional Intelligence in Early Childhood
Emotional intelligence in adults predicts a lot — better relationships, better work performance, better mental health, sometimes more reliably than IQ...
5 min read
Emotions
Anxiety in Early Childhood
A two-year-old who panics at the vacuum cleaner and a four-year-old who insists there's a monster in the closet aren't broken — they're showing you th...
5 min read
Daycare
What Montessori Daycare Is and How It Differs
"Montessori" is a recognizable name that gets attached to a lot of different programs. Some are the real thing — fully trained teachers, the complete...
6 min read
Daycare
The Role of Freedom of Choice in Montessori Daycare
One of the most significant differences between Montessori settings and conventional early years provision is the degree of choice given to children....
3 min read
Daycare
How Early Friendships Form in Daycare
Can toddlers have real friends? Yes — and the answer matters, because parents sometimes underestimate what their 2-year-old is actually doing socially...
3 min read