Wondering how on earth to choose the right therapist for your child? This article has a bunch of great pointers for parents to consider while on the hunt for the right child therapist. I especially agree on the point of choosing a therapist who has extensive training and experience working specifically with children and parents.
The American Journal of Public Health released a study last week that found that the most important predictor of long term success for kindergarten aged children was not cognitive skills, but interpersonal social and emotional skills. Children who demonstrated self-control, perseverance, and conscientiousness were more likely to have success in college and post graduate work 13-19 years later. There is no such thing as too early a start. You can start modeling these prosocial behaviors for your toddler during play time and using encouragement rather than praise to boost your child's self-efficacy.
If you're concerned about your child's obsession with your phone, you may want to do an inventory of yourself first. Our kids take cues from us, so if we're constantly connected, they will want to be too. Create "no phone zones"- times or places in your home where phones are put away and placed on silence. This could be during special play time, meals, after 6:00pm, etc. Check out this mom's realization about why her kiddos were so drawn to her device.
How often are you encouraging your kiddos to get outside and play in nature? Let's remember the benefits of unstructured play time for children's physical, social, and emotional development. Here's a great article about Encouraging Nature Play from PBS Parents.
