The Wonder Year
A play companion for babies - COMING SOON
Babies are cute - but they're not that interesting. At least that's what I thought before I took my masters. I didn't have children of my own at the time so my experience of them was
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Elmwood
How StoryChild works: your subscriber journey
StoryChild is your weekly how-to guide for raising a confident, independent child – through practical tips, playful rhythms, and the unfolding lives of the children of Elmwood.
Through a child’s eyes: A tour of Elmwood
Meet Sam
Oh! The Places You'll Go! From Ben to Daisy, birth to eleven and beyond
Meet the children of Elmwood
Elmwood, the town you grew up in
Habits
Nudges
Loss aversion: encourage more play with FOMO
We all have a fear of missing out. Who wants to miss the party when there's fun to be had? It's a powerful motivator, so why not use it to movitate play?
Present bias: why now matters more than later
Commitment devices: keeping your promise to play
Nudges vs habits: how to make independent play effortless
Make play inevitable: how nudges guide your child towards independent play
Be your own nudge unit
Patterns in Play
The not-quite-schemas: Repetitive patterns that make sense of play
You've seen them before - the quiet rituals of childhood. The stacking. The scattering. The careful line of pebbles on a wall. These aren't random patterns - they're purposeful explorations. This guide helps you recognise what your child is really working on.
The pattern I couldn't see
The trajectory schema: Which way will you go?
Unlock your child's hidden play patterns: Chris Athey's breakthrough schemas
Introducing Patterns in Play
Schema play: A comprehensive guide to understanding your toddler's development
Attachment Play
Regression games
Reassuring your child by revisiting early caregiving experiences
We're in the kitchen and my youngest is four years old.
She's bright and funny and, perhaps, the most articulate of my four children. But on this occasion, she has other things in mind.
Geh-Geh! she says, eyes
Co-operative games
Activities with body contact
Power-reversal games
Separation games
Nonsense play
Contingency play
The Play Tools
The Play Tools: A reset button for play
Does your child ever get distracted? Is she sometimes too agitated to settle? Are there days when you feel like you’re constantly putting out fires, that it’s all tears and no play?
What’s missing?
Three things to do
The grounding touch
Task timer challenge
The squeeze and release
