Winter is finally starting to thaw, and spring is just around the corner. As the days warm up and the trees and flowers burst back into color, allergy season ramps up right along with them. For many people (including myself), those first blooms also bring sneezing, itching, and watery eyes. Whether the trigger is pollen or another allergen, it’s often enough to have us reaching for Benadryl, Allegra, Claritin, Zyrtec, pick your poison.
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Touch is a child’s first language. Studies show that early tactile experiences shape attachment, regulation, and the development of motor and sensory systems. It helps build our body schema for crying out loud.
All of this begins with the skin: the body’s largest organ, the first sensory system to mature, and the primary gateway through which infants learn about safety, connection, and their place in the world. Because the skin is a direct extension of the developing nervous system, it plays a central role in how children build body awareness, emotional stability, and early relationships.
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Kids have an enormous amount to learn, but before they can take on reading, writing, math, social skills, or even coordinated movement, they need a basic sense of themselves.
As children develop, it takes years for them to truly understand themselves—the “me I feel inside,” the “me others see,” and the “me I’m becoming.” That long process begins much earlier than most people realize. It starts when the brain first learns the physical boundaries of the body.
Those early signals (movement, balance, joint and muscle feedback, and deep pressure) are the “me sensations.” They give the brain its first clues about where the body begins and ends. Over time, these sensations fill in the brain’s internal “map of me,” the foundation for later self‑awareness, confidence, and coordinated movement.
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I do not have flat feet. If anything, my arch is incredibly high and my friends complained that we couldn’t borrow each others’ shoes because of it. I also tend to underpronate which I didn’t really notice until college. So when Troy and I started dating and he wore orthotics, I totally thought it was an old man thing.
Last month, Troy suggested we take the girls to the podiatrist. I get being overzealous about your kid’s health, but exactly how many pediatric podiatrists are there?
He said that he noticed that Z’s ankles were crumbling in when she walked and that’s a sign of flat feet. A’s feet also were a bit weird; they curved inward. My little pigeon toe! My MIL also worked as an x-ray tech in a podiatrist’s office, and she reconfirmed they definitely needed to go.
I didn’t think this was a big deal, since they were still growing and neither of them seemed fully “in their body” yet. But when I looked at videos of Z walking in flip flops, it was very clear. Similarly, in videos of A running, she looked a bit “floppy” for lack of a better word. To the podiatrist we go!
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“I’m in love.”
“No, you’re not. You don’t know what love is. You love cupcakes and ponies.” – Steve Byrne, The Byrne Identity
Kids are funny when it comes to love. Adults see it as a deep emotional connection, but children are still figuring out what that feeling even is. They might say “I love you” to a parent, announce plans to marry a playground friend, or juggle “relationships” with multiple classmates. They hug with their whole bodies and may even offer a kiss simply because they don’t know another way to show affection.
Kids may not fully grasp what love means, but they’re learning how it feels, how to express it, and how to set safe boundaries—and that learning begins from the moment they’re born.
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Child(ish) Advice 