Is Structured Play with Your Kids a Good Idea?

Like most parents, I try to spend time each day playing with my child. This daily interaction is as natural as breathing, right? Well maybe not. According to anthropologist David Lancy, the idea of parent-child play is really a modern day occurrence and not necessarily a good thing. Lancy says that this type of interaction happens only in wealthy developed countries. In the journal, American Anthropologist, he stated that in many cultures adults think that it is silly to play with children. However, many Americans feel that playing with their children is the one way to raise smart and well-adjusted … Continue reading

Teaching Kids To Amuse Themselves

“Do you have something for me to do?” This is Tyler’s roundabout way of saying that he’s bored. It’s hard to understand how a child with so much cannot find something to do. One of his biggest problems is he’s so accustomed to doing things with me that at times he’s unable to enjoy time alone. He can amuse himself for hours on end one day and be unable to tear himself away from me the next. Being an only child, he’s used to having me to himself and I think he’s grown comfortable with that. What I am attempting … Continue reading

How Old is TOO Old For Imaginary Friends?

There is no rule that says that children HAVE to have invisible or imaginary friends, but if they do, many will have them when they are 3 or 4 years old. It is fairly common for parents to worry about whether it is “normal” to have invisible/imaginary friends and to worry even more if this type of fantasy play continues into the elementary school years. Only one of my three children ever had an imaginary friend (that we knew about) and she was pretty developmentally on-target. If I remember correctly, it was from about the age of 4 until the … Continue reading