As a new parent or provider, you probably aren't thinking about teaching your infant problem-solving skills, but you are. You're helping them shape their approach to everything as they watch you go about your day, dealing with life. Your interactions with them during this crucial period of development mean so much. Most people want their children to grow up solving their own problems non-violently. The alternative is frightening. Yet infants and toddlers seem so vulnerable that we naturally...

Enjoy this ad-free article from Early Childhood Rocks, a nonprofit organization. Any references to outside products are unpaid recommendations. What if you could use fun and excitement to supercharge your child's learning and help them reach their full potential? Fun and excitement are feelings that spark learning. Sometimes it's hard to see, but learning isn't boring. It's fun! But here's something serious. During the first few years of life, we learn self-regulation. If we ignore this...

Once upon a time, preschool and nursery school teachers used songs to teach the children. We sometimes played old vinyl records, but mostly we sang. In the classrooms, we had a few puzzles, art supplies, books, and toys. We sang ABC's, nursery rhymes, and a few pop songs like "Monster Mash". We made our own fun with what we had. Children do the same today. Whether they have fancy wooden toys galore or just a stick and a ball, they play. Young children are wired to play because it's the...