CreativePlay Plus: Ideas in Play and Child Development

Going outside and playing maybe more than just a time to run around in the sun and take in the fresh air. Dr. Stephen Kaplan, a professor of Psychology at the University of Michigan, was intrigued by the refreshing effects of spending time outside and for much of his career he has studied the cognitive benefits of being outdoors.

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Creepshow movie What's the Worst That Could Happen? The Hand movie download From his research, Dr. Kaplan proposed the Attention Restoration Theory (ART) to better understand why many individuals report having their senses awakened after being in natural environments.
ART specifies…

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My Cousin Vinny hd For example, while both are beneficial, walking in a natural park appears to improve attention more than spending time outside in urban or suburban areas
Kaplan’s work in this area supports the necessity to provide opportunities every day for children to spend time outside as they develop! It may be that children who are given time throughout the day to take in the fresh air and natural scenes could improve their thinking abilities!

Cindi leaves a great comment on this post at IntegratedMother.com “Play is the love-language of children”:

Connors’ War movie full There is no greater gift you can give yourself and your children than to be completely in the moment when you play with them. As busy moms, that’s not always easy. We have work to do, thoughts to be mulled over, and sometimes we’re just plain too tired to play.

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When we are children, it is easy to be in the moment. We are not stuck in the past, or worrying about the future. Life happens in the moment. But then a funny thing happens and our brains develop and become more complex. Suddenly something as simple as staying present takes work and practice.

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There is no magical formula for being in the moment with our children. We just need to stay conscious of our wandering thoughts, our urge to get things done, and the beliefs that stop us from losing ourselves in play. When these things threaten to interfere, we simply bring our attention back to our children and enjoy the present moment.

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The benefits we receive when engaged in play are definitely worth taking time out to be in the flow of life with our children…

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Great tips on the clickthru.

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ZenHabits.net lets us in on some tips for raising happy children. Here are a few to whet your appetite. The others are available by clicking the link below:

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Many times, as parents, we snap at a child without meaning to.  For example, if a child spills a bottle of juice all over the floor, we may say something like “Why didn’t you watch what you were doing?”  Or if a child hits his/her brother, we may say something like “That’s BAD! What’s wrong with you?  You don’t hit your brother!”  These things are often said in frustration however, repeated comments such as this can have a harmful effect on children.

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When kids feel that they are having more negative than positive interactions with parents, they begin to feel that they are bad kids or that they are not good enough.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull full movie This does not mean that parents should not provide their children with constructive feedback or punish a child for unacceptable behaviors, such as hitting one’s brother or cursing at a teacher.  It is important that children learn that unwanted behaviors have consequences.  But, feedback about these behaviors could be provided in a non-critical manner and in a calm tone.  For example, “It is not okay to hit your brother, so you are getting a time-out.”

Seem familiar? We’ve written about this topic before because it is important to us that parents read the necessity for children to have rules for behavior and expected consequences as they develop and mature.  However,  we are aware the difficulties that come with trying to teach appropriate behavior to children and we want to emphasize the importance of how rules for behaving are taught as well as the what rules we give children.

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When children are scared of something, they often try really hard to avoid it. But avoidance of things makes them seem even scarier. Think back to your own childhood, or witnessing your child at the dentist. Often visits to the dentist occur only a few times a year and if their last visit was frightening or painful they are likely to be a little scared to go back. However, getting out of relatively “painless” visits makes it difficult for children to learn an important lesson, that this time might be different and even if they are anxious, they can handle it.

Parents play a big role in helping children face their fear and telling them it’s okay to feel anxious.

Remind children of things they used to be scared of but aren’t anymore.
• Feeling afraid of the neighbor’s dog and learning he won’t hurt them and is actually fun to play with!

Parents can also show their child that they are afraid of things too, but there are ways they soothe themselves so they can get through it!
• I like to hum a funny song so I don’t feel so scared
• I keep telling myself I’ll be okay!
• We’re doing something new and it will be an exciting adventure!

Children can also be reminded of brave characters in books!
• The Little Engine That Could

a classic book that depicts Tillie, the little train who pulled a heavy load up a hill when no other trains would by saying “I think I can!”

Early experiences with anxiety where children feel good about conquering their fears helps children learn that anxiety is just an emotion, like any other emotion, and that fear is not something that should guide their life.

Check out these previous posts about coping with fears through play and children’s books!
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Facing Fears through Fantasy
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An interesting article on how new parents are turning to the web for tips on being a new parent:

[O]ne Friday night, while poring through Consumer Reports and the Babies-R-Us Web site (margarita in hand), I typed “researching car seats, cribs and high chairs” as my Facebook status. Almost immediately, my friend Mike, a father of two, zinged back a stroller recommendation.

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Where do you turn for info about your children?

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Communicating criticism to children can sometimes be subtle.

• Sighing when a child does something that you do not approve of
• Making offhand remarks made to others that the child may overhear “Your brother just doesn’t know any better”
• Indicating that the child should be perfect “Next time we’ll practice more so you won’t make any mistakes in your piano recital.”

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While parents and teachers in these situations are probably trying to help a child cope when things aren’t going their way, they may be unknowingly communicating their own our frustrations.

Rather than automatically reacting to unwanted behaviors with negative feedback it’s important to be mindful that we catch children being good and sandwich constructive feedback with rewards for positive behavior. Even if a child is misbehaving there are often opportunities to catch your child being good.
• For example, if your child is screaming at his sister and you ask him to sit down and be quiet, when he does so, you have an opportunity to reward for the positive behavior of listening and doing what you asked while also providing criticism about the negative behavior.
o “I like how you just listened! Good job listening. But screaming at your sister is not okay.”

Make a list of all of the negative and positive things that you have said to your child today and see whether there are more negatives or more positives.

For more information, here are some previous posts with similar information about providing constructive and positive feedback in the face of what could be a frustrating situation:

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Praising Art, Athletic, and Musical Abilities

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