With school districts beginning the school year in remote learning mode, families are figuring out how to make the demanding task of overseeing children’s learning at home actually work. The extra burden can weigh even heavier on single and working parents. The...
Many children have some level of awareness of race relations in America right now. Maybe they’ve heard things on the radio, glanced at the news at home, or have even had frank discussions with friends and family. As a parent, it can be hard to find the “right” way to...
As any adult who has ever gone on YouTube knows, it can be the Wild West of content. When you’re not able to be fully present with your children as they watch, it can be ill-advised to turn them loose on YouTube. However, there is some really good educational...
In the past, while the content of library materials might have been exciting, on the whole, libraries’ reputations were that of serious, settled institutions. Today’s libraries, however, are nothing like the archaic models of the past. Most are modern,...
For many Austin families, summer came before we expected it. Not the summer of pool parties, sprinkler playdates, and sparklers with neighbors after dark, but the summer of lots and lots of unexpected family togetherness. When you add in anxiety about the state of the...
The statistics on how much time American children spend outside each day is startling. The National Recreation and Park Association states that the average child spends only four to seven minutes engaged in unstructured play outdoors, while spending an average of...
Getting some kids to read is like pulling teeth. Actually, for most reluctant readers, pulling teeth would seem like a walk in the park— that’s how resistant they are to reading! While most of us would agree that reading is good for children, we might not know...
It’s February and love is in the air. I would say that a chill is also in the air, but we do live in Austin after all, so no guarantees! Good weather or bad, though, chances are that thoughts of summer and summer camps are not top of mind. You might want to try a...
Childhood presents a wonderful opportunity to explore new activities and to try new things. Failure often doesn’t carry the same weight as it does in adulthood, and the playing field can be more level. By nature, many of those involved are also trying activities for...
A learning disability is a neurological condition that interferes with a child’s ability to store, process, or produce information. Its effects can be seen in a wide variety of areas, including reading, writing, speaking, spelling, math computation, reasoning,...
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), mental disorders among children are described as “serious changes in the way children typically learn, behave or handle their emotions, causing distress and problems getting through the day.” Media...
A dear friend called me to talk about her first-grade daughter, who was complaining of boredom in school. As a former educator, she wanted my advice. The family didn’t want to change schools or teachers, but they did want to ensure their daughter stayed engaged and...
