child development

Course Notes: Challenging Behavior, Pt. 1

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

The shrieks! The screams! The calamity of it all!

No, this isn’t a trailer to the newest horror flick. It’s just another day in my house with the kids. *sigh*

Children are not easy obviously, but especially so when their behaviors are on another level. But behind every bit of challenging behavior lies a need that your child can’t quite articulate.

Last fall, I took a CEU course called “Identifying the Root of Challenging Behaviors.” So this week, we are giving you the parent takeaways. This first part on the developing child brain is a lot of what we’ve previously written about, but it sets the stage for how all of these parenting/OT approaches and strategies come together effectively.

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Patti’s Favorite Posts: 2023

| Patti Webb

My favorite 2023 post was our Treetop Quest playdate review. 

I was so excited to find this activity and overjoyed at the mental and physical determination our kids displayed. Mary and I could only help or talk to our kids from a distance. We also couldn’t exactly show or model how to do the courses ourselves. They had to assess the situation, work their equipment, motor plan, and overcome a bit of reluctance. Our kids showed true teamwork, were cheerleaders for each other, and it was impressive. Such a proud mom moment. 

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Child(ish) Reads: MORE + Being Seen

| Patti Webb

“What we are teaches the child far more than what we say, so we must be what we want our children to become.”- Child development author Joseph Chilton Pearce, Teaching Children to Love

This post is actually part Child(ish) Read review and part Coffee Chat. I finally finished More: Life on the Edge of Adventure and Motherhood by Majka Burhardt. Burhardt is a Princeton graduate, a professional rock and ice climber, and a twin mom. The book spans her pregnancy through her kids’ fourth birthday, compiled from audio and journal entries over five years. The book started out as letters to her twins and morphed into book-form when she could see the overall message not only to her children, but to all moms.

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Holiday Gift Guide 2023: Child(ish) Reads

| Patti Webb

BOOKS FOR CHRISTMAS!!!!

To research this post, I spent a solid 90 minutes in Barnes & Noble. I like to think I’m on top of my #booktok game, so it was really nice to physically see the books, browse and find new titles.

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Holiday Gift Guide 2023: Elementary School

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

As kids enter their elementary school years, they have achieved many (if not all) of their developmental milestones. They feel confident enough in their skills to test their limits, try new things, make new friends, and seek more independence.

This must be the largest list we’ve made to date since there are so many good toys, games, and activities out there that our kids can benefit from.

Here’s our top picks for 2023 for elementary kids, 4 years and up:

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