By Peter Gray, Ph.D. Part one: irrational societal fears can paralyze parents and harm children. Children are designed, by nature, to spend hours per day playing with other children, independently of adults. In such play they practice all sorts of physical and mental skills; discover and pursue their passions; and learn […]
Children can show clingy behaviour at any stage up to late primary school years. from shutterstock.com Many parents complain of difficulties in managing clingy children – whether it’s a baby who cries every time the parent is out of sight, a toddler who clings to their parent’s legs at social […]
I’m asking for your ideas about how to make real play possible for kids again. By Peter Gray Ph.D. Freedom to Learn Children are designed, by nature, to play with other children independently of adults. Generally, the best place for them to play is outdoors, partly for the fresh air, vigorous […]
Trustful parenting is thrown off course, in various ways, when fear prevails. By Peter Gray Ph.D. Freedom to Learn I have long been advocating, on this blog and elsewhere, for what I refer to as trustful parenting. Trustful parents allow their children as much freedom as reasonably possible to make their own decisions. They trust their […]
By Idzie Desmarais I’m Unschooled. Yes, I Can Write Unschooling is all about respecting and trusting children. So when people who have liked my unschooling Facebook page start defending the practice of hitting children, I’m baffled as well as upset. Because the thing is, and I can’t state this strongly […]
You can help your children investigate any online hoax. Shutterstock/junpinzon It’s a parent’s responsibility to protect their children from harm, no matter where that threat of harm comes from. But what if the threat is a hoax? We’ve seen recently a rollercoaster of panic from parents trying to protect their […]
It makes sense for children in the early stages of learning to read to be given decodable books. www.shutterstock.com A child’s early experiences with books both at home and later in school have the potential to significantly affect future reading performance. Parents play a key role in building oral language and literacy […]
As we look to improve the reading outcomes of our young children, more music education in our preschools and primary schools could be the answer. www.shutterstock.com Neuroscience has found a clear relationship between music and language acquisition. Put simply, learning music in the early years of schooling can help children […]
Possum Magic again, are you for real kid?! from www.shutterstock.com We often hear about the benefits of reading storybooks at bedtime for promoting vocabulary, early literacy skills, and a good relationship with your child. But the experts haven’t been in your home, and your child requests the same book every single night, sometimes […]
It takes effort and imagination, but the benefits are many. from www.shutterstock.com Contrary to the belief we Aussies are a nature-loving outdoor nation, research suggestswe’re spending less and less time outdoors. This worrying trend is also becoming increasingly apparent in our educational settings. I have devoted the majority of my teaching and […]