Problem solving
17 articles
What to Do if a Child Refuses to Go to Daycare (US)
A child who clings to the doorframe in their pajamas, screams "no daycare!" and goes limp when you try to put on shoes can rattle even an experienced...
What to Do if a Child Refuses to Go to Daycare (UK)
A child who clings to the doorframe in their pajamas, screams "no daycare!" and goes limp when you try to put on shoes can rattle even an experienced...
What to Do if a Child Refuses to Go to Daycare (Global)
A child who clings to the doorframe in their pajamas, screams "no daycare!" and goes limp when you try to put on shoes can rattle even an experienced...
Puzzles and Shape Sorters for Young Children: Developmental Value and Age Guide
Shape sorters and puzzles are one of the few toy categories where the simplest, cheapest versions do as much developmental work as the elaborate ones....
What Building Play Develops in Early Childhood
When a 2-year-old knocks over a tower for the fifteenth time and starts rebuilding, they aren't just playing — they're running one of the highest-yiel...
Puzzles for Young Children: Benefits and Selection
A wooden puzzle on the kitchen floor on a Saturday morning is doing more for your child's brain than most "educational" toys with screens and batterie...
Puzzles and Shape Sorters for Young Children
Shape sorters and puzzles are among the most reliably developmental toys you can put on a shelf — they build spatial reasoning, fine motor control, an...
What to Do When Playdates Go Wrong
The playdate going badly in your living room right now is not a sign of a social problem. It is a sign that two small humans with limited regulation s...
First Puzzles for Children Aged 1–2
The first time a toddler holds an elephant-shaped piece over a vaguely elephant-shaped hole and lets go, three things happen: the piece either fits or...
Building and Construction Play
A toddler stacking three blocks and then knocking them down is doing physics. They're testing balance, gravity, and stability, with their own structur...
Block Play by Developmental Stage
Few play materials have the research record blocks do. Wolfgang and colleagues followed preschoolers' block play and found it predicted high-school ma...
How to Talk to Your Child About Conflicts at Daycare
Your child gets in the car at pickup and announces that someone bit her. Or the lead teacher pulls you aside to say your child pushed another kid off...
What to Do if Your Child Refuses to Go to Daycare
A child who fights you at the door turns the morning into a war zone for everyone. Before you assume your child hates daycare or that you've made the...
What to Do if a Child Refuses to Go to Daycare
A child who clings to the doorframe in their pajamas, screams "no daycare!" and goes limp when you try to put on shoes can rattle even an experienced...
How to Discuss a Problem With a Caregiver Respectfully
Your three-year-old comes home and says "Miss Sarah was mean to me." How you handle the next conversation — at the next morning's dropoff, or in a qui...
How to Talk to a Child About Conflicts at Daycare
Your child climbs into the car seat and announces that Marcus took her truck and called her a baby. Your first instinct will probably be one of two th...
Conflicts Between Children as a Natural Part of Socialization
A note on the daycare app saying your child had a conflict can land like bad news. It usually is not. Conflict between young children is the actual cl...