Recently I had the good fortune to see Barbara Coloroso at a Early Childhood Education Symposium at which Kidplayhouse  was also presenting workshop. Barbara said that children are naturally compassionate and empathetic from birth. She noted that when a baby is in true distress, other babies will cry in sympathy, but not when that child is just feeling grumpy. Toddlers will routinely bring their special things to comfort another one.  Children have to be taught to hate, to hoard, to harm. The natu

Here are a couple of good links outlining the importance of free, unstructured playtime for kids. When we were kids, we 'ran wild'. Of course, times have changed and parents are leery of letting their children run about unsupervised. This is one really good reason to raise kids in a small town if at all possible, and many people are choosing just that. But, if this isn't an option, we should at least be considering how to provide safe environments that do not include constant monitoring of kids activities o

SPONTANEOUS PLAY – WHY IT MATTERS
In the quest to create highly achieving adults we have dismissed the power of spontaneous imaginative play.  Dr. David Elkind (Tufts University) says that not allowing children to play freely and spontaneously inhibits their growth and causes them to grow up too soon too fast.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PLAY AND FUN ?
Play is the answer to the question, how does anything new come about.  Play requires a focus and is not always fun. Play is about

Kidplayhouse invites you to share your experience, explorations and expertise in creative play. Comments on our programs are also welcome. We're new to blogging so show us the way! We will be presenting or linking interesting information as we come across it. What say you out there?

Be sure to check out all the categories. We're starting to upload.  See Articles Category for an interesting article on the importance of free play for children.