Play. It’s a seemingly simple task but adults really struggle with letting go and just playing with their children. We often get all caught up in our own logic and forget the magic of just letting things play out, with little logic and interference from those with experience. Our small humans learn about their world through play. It’s pretty clear from about 0-7 but then a child’s play morphs into less actual playing and more games, competition, and exploration of boundaries.

As a national play therapy week comes to an end, I thought it would be a great idea to inform readers as to what play therapy is and how it can be beneficial. Children express themselves through play activities. They act out movies and scenes; they pretend to be super heroes, race cars, dogs, etc. in an effort to experience different facets of life and to gain different perspectives (they don’t know this yet). It is in these play activities that they learn how to interact wit

A new school year is just around the corner and many of our children, whether they are starting elementary school or college, are getting that nervous excitement to see what the new school year brings. New classes, new teachers and new friends can be exciting. It’s not always rainbows and butterflies though. For some, just hearing the words back-to-school may send shivers of anxiety down their backs. Children who struggle with strong feelings of anxiety may want to run the ot

We are halfway through 2014, you think we'd know how to...How many times have you said or heard that? Well it's 2014, you think we'd know how to...raise kids...right? Raising kids is tough and it doesn't matter if you have 1 or 6, it's still a hard job. The world has changed so much that it's hard for even the younger parents to stay on top of things in their child's world. Parenting toddlers and teenagers is especially tough. It can be excrutiatingly difficult. Toddlers are

Children are little humans who experience the whole gambit of emotions. You’ve heard the squeals of delight, seen the tears of sadness and the throws of frustration. When your son bites his hand or when your 13-year-old has a screaming fit that started because you looked at her, what is really going on? Is it that she’s mad or can she just not communicate the feeling with you? Children often don’t have the words to tell you what they are feeling, so parents are left interpret

If I asked you to define ‘play’ what would you say? Is it only for kids? How do you think it benefits a small human to play? What about a big human? It’s no secret that kids like to play, in fact, they need to play, so do adults. Shouldn’t there be a way to include play in our lives so that we are just more relaxed human beings? Play is important to build and promote fine and gross motor skills, communication and social emotional skills in children. It’s during playtime