Play
Using Movement to Release Tension
When a child is frustrated, nervous, or overwhelmed, sometimes the most therapeutic thing they can do is move. Running, jumping, dancing, spinning, cl...
5 min read
20 articles found
Play
Using Movement to Release Tension in Young Children
When a toddler is frustrated, over-excited, or on the edge of a meltdown, the adult instinct is often to calm them down verbally — to reason with them...
2 min read
Play
How Play Teaches Emotional Regulation
Play is where children first learn to manage their emotions. When a child plays out a scary situation with toys, they're practicing how to handle fear...
6 min read
Parenting
What to Say When a Child Is Overwhelmed
Your child is having a meltdown. They're crying hysterically, can't tell you what's wrong, and seem completely out of control. In these moments, what...
5 min read
Parenting
How Children Learn From Watching Parents Handle Stress
Work stress, financial worries, relationship conflicts, health issues—all adults experience stress. How you manage that stress in front of your child...
5 min read
Parenting
How to Shield Children From Adult Stress
Your stress is real. Work, relationships, money, health—adult worries are constant. Children sense your stress and can absorb it. Shielding them doesn...
3 min read
Parenting
How to Manage Your Own Anger as a Parent
Parenting is triggering. A child who won't listen, a situation that reminds you of your own childhood, stress from work, exhaustion—all of these can i...
5 min read
Parenting
What to Do If You Lose Your Temper With Your Child
You lose your temper. You yell. You say things you regret. Your child cries or shuts down. You feel terrible. This happens to virtually every parent,...
5 min read
Parenting
Parents' Emotional Maturity and Its Impact on the Child
Most parenting advice focuses on techniques: time-outs, rewards, specific phrases to use, behavior strategies. Yet research consistently shows that pa...
6 min read
Parenting
How Early Adversity Shapes Coping Skills
It might seem that the goal of parenting is to shield your child from all hardship and stress. But research shows that children who grow up with absol...
6 min read
Parenting
How to Cope With Feelings of Chaos at Home
Some days parenting feels genuinely chaotic. The house is a mess, your child is overwhelmed, you're overwhelmed, nothing is going to plan, and everyth...
5 min read
Parenting
Calming Strategies Children Can Learn and Use
Your child is upset and you take them to a quiet space, help them breathe, and sing a calming song. Slowly, they calm down. Over time, with repeated p...
6 min read
Parenting
Biting in Toddlers: Causes and Responses
Your toddler bites a peer during a conflict. At home, they bite your arm when they're excited. These moments are alarming and frustrating, and they of...
5 min read
Parenting
Alternatives to Time-Out for Young Children
Many young children don't respond well to traditional time-out, especially toddlers who need help regulating rather than isolation. Fortunately, many...
5 min read
Parenting
How to Handle Aggressive Behavior in Young Children
Your toddler hits when they're frustrated. Your preschooler punches a peer during conflict. Your child throws things when they don't get their way. Ag...
6 min read
Family Life
How to Discuss Disagreements in Front of Children
Ideally, parents would never disagree in front of their children. But in real families, it happens. The question isn't whether you'll ever disagree in...
5 min read
Family Life
How Children Perceive the Emotional Climate at Home
Infants and toddlers can't understand words, but they absolutely sense emotional climate. A baby experiences their parent's anxiety as anxiety. A todd...
4 min read
Emotions
Emotional Development in Children 0–5: A Parent's Guide
Emotional development is one of the most important—and often misunderstood—aspects of early childhood. From a newborn's first cries to a five-year-old...
7 min read
Emotions
Why Children at This Age Often Feel Anger
Toddlers are angry more often than at any other age. This is not because they are unpleasant or poorly raised — it is because their developmental situ...
3 min read
Emotions
Aggression in Toddlers: Developmental Norm or Warning Sign
The toddler who hits their parent, bites a playmate, or pushes another child off a toy is not demonstrating early antisocial tendencies. They are demo...
3 min read