We grow old because we stop PLAYING.

 I was 9 years old when I was watched the movie "Hook" with Robin Williams- you know the one I am talking about? "Looky looky- I've got a hooky." Anyone? I remember specifically promising myself that I would never turn into a boring stuffy adult who had forgotten how to play. Never. 

But somewhere along the way- play became less and less a part of my life. Why is that? It wasn't cool  to play with dolls or barbies anymore. Then eventually- I stopped imagining all together...that is until high school when I had the opportunity to volunteer at a center with troubled kids. I re-discovered the magical world of play and imagination again! That entire year I was on the ground playing, observing, and just being a kid. I was hired right out of high school and started my first "real job" that summer and my love for working with children was born. 

 We once knew how play before- why don't we do it anymore? 

For us adults...it takes PRACTICE!

The more you sit on the floor and are 100% available- your child will let them into their world and you will once again have a glimpse of the magical world of play and pretend.

I love it.

besitos, xo

Play in therapy.

I often have people ask me why I use PLAY in my therapy instead of just talking to a kid about how they feel. 

Can you imagine what it would be like to have such STRONG feelings in your little body and NOT have the language or understanding of EXPRESSING what was going on inside? 

This is often how children feel because they lack the capacity of expressing their feelings with verbal language. Many grownups have difficulty explaining or processing how they feel... now think of a child. Their SMALL little bodies can experience BIG emotions and a child who acts out or withdraws really is telling you that they are feeling something they can’t process or explain.

Play is healing to children. Play allows children to manipulate their world from their perspective on a smaller scale, something that cannot be done in the child's everyday big and COMPLEX environment. Through play, they can process and express how they feel in a way they understand. Every child has a natural instinct for play. Why not meet them in their world instead of trying to use techniques that may only make sense in a grown up world? 

"One of the most important purposes of play in children is to recover from emotional distress. By pretending, or by retelling the story, the scene can be re-created. This time, the child is in Charge. Through playing it out, emotional healing takes place."

-Lawrence J. Cohen, PHD

Kiddos who have any of these symptoms can benefit from

play therapy:

·Excessive anger, worry, sadness, or fear

·Aggressive behavior (hurting others or self)

·Separation anxiety

·Withdrawing from others

-Behavioral regression

·Low self esteem

·Learning or other school problems

·Sleep, eating, or elimination problems

·Preoccupation with sexual behavior

·Difficulty adjusting to family changes

·Physical symptoms such as headaches or stomachaches without medical cause

That's all for today. P.S. If you like what you read...FOLLOW this blog!

besitos, xoxo

Get a little messy.

Today we woke up feeling like getting a little messy. So, out came the shaving cream... nothing is better than shaving cream because it's a quick and easy clean up.  Young kiddos are using all their senses to learn and explore their world and rubbing things through their fingers is part of it. So get MESSY!

Idea: spray some shaving cream on both sides of the window- then each of you take one side of the window and mimic whatever your child is doing! It promotes a lot of giggles and they love feeling watched and connected that way. 

Draw or write a love notr to each other as well. 

Great way to connect with one another. 

WARNING: this is SUPPOSED to be messy. Let go and allow it to happen. 

xoxo- besitos,

 

300 giggles a day.

Did you know that preschoolers giggle an average of 300 times a day?

 What would happen if we did that?

I just LOVE hearing my little man giggle...and guess what is a guaranteed laugh each time...me pretending to slip and fall... he thinks I am hilarious. Well, I am. I really have it down.

According to Playful Parenting:

don't be afraid to:

LOOSE YOUR DIGNITY

sing goofy songs

 fall over (my little man loves this one)

 exaggerate

make funny faces

pretend cry

 have pillow fights

 tell jokes

use made up words

play dumb

use a silly voice

talk out loud to a toy or puppet

pretend you are an animal or character 

 "If you are frustrated because you have to remind your child for the twelfth time to pack her lunch or take out the garbage, next time try singing the request in a fake opera voice instead..."- Larence Cohen, PhD

just sayin. Get a signed copy of his book by entering this giveaway here.

xoxo,