Alexis Ralphs

Helping your child build trust and confidence through playful separations. When your child is very young, the idea that something exists even when it’s out of sight is not yet part of her understanding. This is called object permanence—the cognitive leap that things (and people) continue to exist,

Using humour and absurdity to strengthen your bond and diffuse tension Put your socks in the cereal bowl, eat soup with a fork, or wear your child’s underpants on your head during a tantrum - nonsense play invites laughter and light-heartedness into your day. It’s a simple yet

Helping your child feel empowered by creating predictable and responsive interactions As a child, I remember my mother and I playing a game where she puffed out her cheeks for me to ‘pop’ with my finger. The rule was simple: she couldn’t pop until I pressed. I loved the

Helping your child make sense of difficult experiences through pretend play Do you ever have one of those days when everything just seems perfect? Blue skies and sunshine, a long, lazy afternoon stretching out before you? I was having one of those days. Just standing in the park, just being.

Helping your child feel valued and in control through open-ended play I'm sitting on the floor. My son is next to me, deeply engrossed in play. His wooden railway stretches out across the room, the incomplete track taking a wrong turn, the two ends destined never to be