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Our Favorite Articles:      New Teaching Standards: Going Beyond Paper and Pencil (by Al Baker, New York Times)

                          How To Involve Kids Early In Family's Giving Ethos (read the full article here)

                                           Solid Foods Before 4 Months Can Raise Obesity Risk For Bottle-Fed Babies (full article)

    Preschoolers in Surgery for a Mouthful of Cavities (full article)

 Annual Survey of Private Schools (private preschools rated)

What Is Different About Play Today?

As parents we want to provide our children with toys and experiences that will enhance healthy play and development. Unfortunately creative play is being challenged because children are spending more time in front of screens of one sort or another. There is an increasing amount of electronic toys, games and DVD’s which often times turn children into passive players.

We know that play is essential to early learning; children need to actively be involved in their play in order to develop basic learning skills. This is one of the best ways they learn about their world.

Quality play is vital for your child’s growth and development and you can support quality play in these ways:

  Through Close Relationships – interacting with your child through positive, supportive play experiences will help her gain the confidence she needs to build loving and healthy relationships.

  By Promoting Language – talking to your baby about what is happening around her while playing and responding to her sounds, words, and gestures lays the foundation for future success in learning to read and write.

  By Promoting Creativity - it is the process that’s important in creative play not the product they make in the end. Children learn best when they experiment and discover for themselves rather than being shown by an adult.

  By Promoting Physical Development – active play in a safe open space is very important for learning. Provide materials that allow your child to move her body and use her senses.

  By Promoting Thinking Skills – learning concepts and using problem solving skills are critical for your child’s future academic success.

  By Promoting Social Skills – through play your child learns to get along with others and interactive experiences will help set the foundation for future friendships.

As always, it is striking a balance between providing activities that challenge your child in various ways. So, allowing your child to watch TV or playing with an electronic toy now and then is not totally out of the question as long as there are plenty of opportunities for quality play as outlined in the examples above.