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My son just turned one last week. Cringing at the idea of being gifted with countless toys, my husband and I decided to request “no gifts” on his birthday invitation. It’s not that we don’t like toys, we do! It’s just that we like to screen and limit the toys that enter our house to those that foster creative and problem-solving play.

In my previous life (the one before marrying a musician and quitting my stable job to live on the road in a green conversion van) I was a Child Life Specialist. My entire job revolved around working with children in a medical setting to maintain socially and developmentally appropriate skills through play. Play is so essential to a child’s development. Play is how children learn.

Aware that play is my son’s primary occupation, I want to surround him with the toys that allow him to be an active participant in his work. (more…)

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My husband e-mailed me a link to an article that was shocking. It pointed to some research done a few years ago that is showing that children in the UK are becoming so addicted to TV and video games that they are forgetting their own names. Crazy sounding, I know.

Here is the link to the article if you’d like to read it for yourself and do some more research.

It reminded me of a series of conversations I’ve had over the years with other moms about television and all of its supposed benefits for young children (in spite of what the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends). It has prompted me to consider, once again, the role of media in my children’s lives and remind myself of all of the OTHER things we can do together as a family!

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