In this activity, your job is to be the Observer. You are there to witness the work, but you aren't there to direct it. Side Note: This also works well when supervising or managing adults! The Mission: Decoding The Hiccup 1. Spend 10 minutes, just 10, watching your child play. 2. No talking. No "helping." No suggesting. No phone. Just watch. 3. Watch for that moment where things stop going smoothly. The frustration starts to bubble up because the blocks won't stay up or the marker ran out. 4. When that hiccup happens, count to ten slowly in your head. Do not "save" the moment. Give their brain ten seconds to struggle. 5. While you count, try to see what’s actually happening. Is their brain struggling with how things balance, the rules of the game, or just the feeling of being frustrated? The Ownership Hook: If they look at you for help after your 10 seconds are up, don't give them the answer. Give them a question that puts them back in charge: "I noticed the wheels aren't staying on. I wonder what a Master Mechanic would try to keep them steady?" Why this works: By staying in the background, you are telling them: "I trust your brain to figure this out." That trust is the most important "toy" in the house. Your Turn: What was the hiccup in your house today? Did you actually make it to 10 seconds without jumping in? Tell us what you noticed about how they tried to fix it!

I’d like to build upon the concepts introduced in the Brain and Play over the next few days. I hope you’ll join the conversation. Have you ever thought of your living room as a construction site? That thought popped in my head yesterday when I was babysitting my grandson. There was an assortment of toys, musical instruments, snacks, two dogs, and two cats. I watched Eli scoot around testing, playing, and most fun, discovering he could stand up and move forward without help. Of course the “mom” part of my brain also wanted to just tidy things up. I’m not the most organized or clutter free person but looking at those piles of stray blocks, and the floor covered in "stuff" kept calling to me to organize it. It’s loud, it’s messy, and it was tempting to just sweep it all into the toy box so I could walk without tripping. Yes, I’m a klutz! But then I took a step back and thought hmm, I was just talking about brain development, maybe I should apply what I teach. So, here’s a different way to look at it: You aren't looking at a mess; you are looking at how your child’s brain is building itself. Think of your child’s brain right now as Wet Paint. It is dripping, soaking things up, and incredibly easy to shape. As adults, that paint has mostly dried we have our habits and our "way of doing things." But for them, everything is still fresh. Every time they hit a hiccup, the tower falls, they fall, the drawing rips, or the game stops working their brain "sparks." In that moment of frustration, they are actually building a new connection. If you jump in to "fix" it or show them the "right" way, you’re basically walking across that wet paint. You leave your footprints all over their learning. The goal as the parent or grandparent isn't a clean house or a "perfect" project. It’s Ownership. When the child owns the problem, they own the solution. And when they own the solution, the paint sets in a way that makes them feel like they can handle whatever comes next.

So many toys to choose from and so many questions about what is the best to buy for your child or grandchild. Here's some advice from me... a Mom of 5, grandma to 9, co-founder of Funfit® Family Fitness (1987) and founder of BeABetterParent.com and have spent my career playing with kids and parents and coaching and advising. The simpler the better. Great news!! Simpler toys are not as expensive and encourage cognitive and social development, creativity, curiosity and long term play. Electronic toys that basically do things themselves are more expensive and just gives the child something to watch, limits imagination and loses appeal quickly. So what's great to get? BALLS of all kinds and sizes. Beach balls and foam balls make fun indoor play with little damage to your stuff. HULA HOOPS... all sizes for not just hula hooping but also driving (makes a great steering wheel), putting on the ground and jumping in and out of, get a few and make a track. SWIMMING POOL NOODLES (cut them in half simply with a knife and you can 2 noodles for the price of one)... makes great hockey sticks, golf clubs, baseball bats for little ones, riding ponies, limbo sticks, tons of fun for everyone! BALLOONS... under inflated and tons of fun! SCARVES & RIBBONS for dancing. Music too. Nothing like a fun freeze dance. OBSTACLE COURSES made out of whatever is in the house. Make sure you have them going under, over, around and through. SIDEWALK CHALK... draw pictures, games, lines to walk on, hopscotch... let the creativity soar. NATURE HUNTS, TREASURE HUNTS.... be creative and let the exploration begin! TAG GAMES... run around outside with your child and some tag! YOU'RE IT! This is a great start to having fun and laughing more for you and your child. REMINDER, don't just watch join in the fun! WANT TO SQUEEZE IN MORE EXERCISE INTO YOUR DAY? No better exercise program than running around with your child or grandchild. Hope this helps... comment below what your favorite toy/game is to get you moving in body & mind.

Today is Saturday and that means we have fun and share about ourselves. What was your favorite book or books as a child? Were you drawn to a specific genre or author? What about now as an adult? Do you find yourself still drawn to similar book genres or have you left those childhood stories behind. I loved mysteries, of course, it might be due to that was all my grandma kept at her house. I started with the Bobbsey Twins, then Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys (I preferred them), and graduated to Ellery Queens Minute Mysteries. At home, we had lots of magazines and trips to the library. Your turn.

@Adam Formanek has inspired me to create more simple and fun games you can play by yourself or with the kids in your life. Today, I was inspired by the old Highlights for Children magazine I grew up reading. One of my favorite pages was the “Spot the difference” page. With the help of AI I’ve created my first one for you. If you’d like the prompt I used so you can create your own, let me know. Can you find the differences between the left and right side? Answers revealed Tuesday to give everyone time to play.