Category: Early Childhood Development

Growth mindset is one of the most widely discussedconcepts in education and parenting over the pasttwo decades — and one of the most frequentlymisapplied. The term has become so popular thatit is often reduced to a slogan: “just tell childrenthey can improve and they will.” The researchbehind it is both more specific and more nuancedthan…

Teaching children to make good choices is one ofthe most important — and most gradual — tasks ofparenting. It is not something that happens in asingle conversation or through a single lesson.It is built across thousands of ordinary moments,through the specific ways parents respond whenchildren face decisions, make mistakes, andencounter the consequences of their choices.…

“She just won’t listen.” “He hears me but ignoresme completely.” “I have to say it ten times beforeanything happens.” These are among the mostcommon frustrations parents report — and amongthe most misunderstood in terms of what isactually happening and what actually helps. This article covers what the research showsabout children and listening — why childrendon’t…

Confidence is one of the qualities parents mostwant for their children — and one of the mostcommonly misunderstood in terms of how itactually develops. The popular approach tobuilding confidence — praising childrenlavishly, protecting them from failure,and telling them they can do anything —is not only unsupported by research.In some cases it actively underminesthe genuine confidence…

Executive function is one of those terms that appearsfrequently in conversations about child development,school readiness, and learning difficulties — and israrely explained clearly enough to be useful to parents.This article covers what executive function actually is,how it develops across childhood, why it matters so much,and what parents can specifically do to support it. What Executive…

Anxiety is the most common mental health concernin childhood — affecting approximately one in eightchildren at any given time. Yet it is also one ofthe most frequently missed, misunderstood, andmistreated by well-meaning parents who do notalways recognize what they are seeing or knowwhat to do about it. This article covers what childhood anxiety actuallyis, how…

Mindful parenting is one of the most talked-aboutconcepts in contemporary parenting culture — andone of the most misunderstood. For some parentsit conjures images of meditation cushions andperfect emotional regulation. For others itsounds like one more standard to fall short of. The research on mindful parenting tells a moregrounded and more useful story than eitherof these…

Teaching children about emotions is one of the mostimportant things a parent can do — and one of theleast explicitly taught. Most parents assume thatchildren will simply learn to understand and managetheir emotions through experience. The researchsuggests that explicit, intentional emotion educationmakes a significant difference — and that the wayparents talk about emotions with their…

Few parenting moments are more unsettling than catchingyour child in a lie — particularly the first time, whenit arrives earlier than expected and feels like a signof something going wrong. The research on children andlying tells a more nuanced and more reassuring storythan most parents expect. This article covers what the research shows about whychildren…

If you have ever watched two toddlers playing side by side —each absorbed in their own activity, apparently ignoring eachother, yet clearly aware of the other’s presence — you havewitnessed parallel play. It is one of the most characteristicfeatures of toddler social life, and one of the mostmisunderstood by parents who wonder whether their childis…