Neuroscience

Late Bloomer: The Prefrontal Cortex

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

You ever think back on the things you did during your childhood and just ask yourself, Why? Like, what was I thinking?

Now that we’re parents, we find ourselves like a broken record, repeating instructions to our kids or cringing at their decisions and asking the same question: Why? What are you thinking?

Honestly, no one thinks as critically as an adult and for good reason: the prefrontal cortex. We’ve mentioned this brain structure and its significance in many of our previous posts, but it’s time to put a spotlight on this region and give it the credit it so genuinely deserves.

Continue reading →

Child(ish) Reads: Mother Brain

| Patti Webb

One of the things we love writing about at Child(ish) Advice is not only the practice of parenting but the science behind it. When Mother Brain popped up in my forthcoming Audible titles, I immediately pre-ordered it. A perfect title that fit right into our wheelhouse.

This book explores how children physiologically alter our brain. People have been giving birth and having families for thousands of years and yet we have a societal expectation that runs contrary to how we biologically adapt postpartum. Part-science, part statement; this book brings some much needed knowledge to how we care for ourselves post-baby.

Mother Brain: How Neuroscience Is Rewriting the Story of Parenthood by Chelsea Conaboy

Continue reading →

Role Models: Raising a Mini-Me

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

“You’re a chip off the old block.”

Our kids can be like us in so many ways, from their physical resemblance to how they carry themselves. Although genetics has a hand in how similar they are to us, the majority of how our kids develop comes from what they observe and experience. It’s fun to have a mini-version of ourselves running around, but it’s important that we allow them to find their individuality and embrace who they are. How do we do that, especially when we are their main models?

Continue reading →

Willy Wonka Series: Mike Teavee

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

The 1971 movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is probably one of my top fave movies of all time. I mean, a candy factory tour, singing Oompa-Loompas, and the occasional dark comedy comeuppance? Yes.

Over the years, the movies and the book by Roald Dahl are almost a cautionary tale about unchecked poor behavior in kids. To foil with innocent main character Charlie, we see four other children representing overconsumption, competition, spoiledness, and tv addiction and their consequent ejection from chocolate factory when they give into them. So in the spirit of Halloween and lots of candy, we’re taking a deep dive into these characters and how these negative traits can develop in real life. First up, Mike Teavee.

Continue reading →

This is Your Kid’s Brain on Tech

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

Truth: Raising kids today is infinitely harder than in years past. And even though our parents want to give us tips on how to parent, they really have no idea what it’s like with this level of tech immersion. In fact, our kids (known as gen Alpha) will be the first generation to only know a world dominated by digital.

The result: Tech now leaves a completely different footprint on the developing kids’ brain, making focus, learning, and self-regulation harder to achieve.

Continue reading →