Tummy aches and monsters in the closet. Headaches and risky behaviour. Frequent hand-washing and repetitive behaviours. These are all manifestations of alarm. Thinking about this list of manifestation probably doesn’t make any of us feel very playful, however play is often just what is needed to keep our children’s alarm system healthy and well-functioning. The…
I sit here listening to the lyrics of a song my daughter wrote when she was 15, and it brings me right back: I’m floating away, seems my mind just won’t stay in my brain.It’s all just a haze and the ghosts overtake me, no escape … no escape. I’m going in circles … what…
As parents are pondering the best path forward for their children and families during this pandemic, a number of pundits have been featured on Canadian news channels urgently stating that children NEED to go to school. One even stated that children need to go to school more than they or their families need to be kept…
My 17-year-old son Jacksen bounded out of his room this morning, fresh out of bed, greeting us without a hello or good morning but instead straight-up yelling, “That’s it! I’m not staying in this house today! I’m going out! And I don’t care what anybody says right now!” Did I say, “No you are not!…
Each year around this time, I get the great honor of helping curate the list of books for the Neufeld Institute’s list of children’s literature recommendations, match-making parents and professionals with outstanding kids’ books. Our list includes more than 200 titles — a mix of picture books, books for the very young, early readers and chapter…