This is Your Kid’s Brain on Tech

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.

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Coffee Chat: Encanto

Image: Disney

Encanto was released on Disney+ on December 24th.
My girls watched it for the first time in mid-January.
By February, it had reached Threat Level Frozen.

They request the soundtrack every day in the car, and ask to watch it as soon as they get back from school. And according to Instagram, my house isn’t the only one deep in the Encanto phase.

Since all the songs were written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Troy may or may not be in deep as well. So, we’re leaning into it.

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Things We Loved: November

Hey Everyone,
We hope you’re enjoying the beginning of the holiday season. All of our OT-friendly gift guides are out and we have one more week of posts before taking a much-needed end-of-year blogging break. For this month’s Things We Loved, we’re recapping our busy November, prepping for a crazy December, and sharing the things that are getting us through both.

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Holiday Gift Guide: Alternative Gifts

Lately, when people ask me if the girls want or need anything for Christmas, my immediate answer is NO. From sensory toys to learning toys to active sports equipment, we already have it covered. If anything, I’m begging you not to bring in any more stuff into my house…

A couple years ago, when my mom asked this same question, I told her gift cards. She got visibly disappointed and said that the girls NEED to open something Christmas morning, like I was just going to have no actual presents whatsoever.

First, I want to get out of this frame of thinking, that the holidays aren’t special unless there are a mountain of gifts. NEGATIVE. I’m pretty sure my girls are young enough that there wouldn’t be any emotional difference or disappointment between opening 5 presents or 15 presents.

And second, in going with my 2021 resolution to become more minimalist and sustainable, there are plenty of other gift-giving options besides buying the entire toddler toy section

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