Independent, Purposeful Play | POF60

I hear from so many parents that they want to know how to encourage their kids to play INDEPENDENTLY.  This episode is all about encouraging independent, purposeful and imaginative play. Play is vital for kids because it provides an opportunity for them to develop the social, emotional and cognitive skills they need to succeed, not only in school, but in life. My guest and play expert, Alanna Gallo, explains how play helps develop executive functioning, language and math skills, conflict resolution and negotiation, creativity, problem-solving, emotional regulation and the ability to multi-task.  Our kids sort out their emotions and experiences through play and essential to their development that they have time to play. Listen in as we talk about how to set up your space for independent and purposeful play even if your kids don’t want to play on their own…YET. ;)  Check out the show notes in the episode website for the 5 Steps to Encourage Independent Play.  About Alanna Gallo Alanna Gallo is a teacher, mother to three young children and the founder of Play. Learn. Thrive., which provides parents with the education and tools they need to become more intentional about their children’s toys and play spaces so they can foster independent and unstructured play that encourages individualized learning, problem-solving skills and perseverance.  After working in Connecticut’s public school system as an English teacher for more than 10 years, Alanna realized that many of her student’s issues, such as a lack of motivation and independence, could be traced back to early childhood learning. Her desire to better understand her students drove her interest in child development but becoming a mother further pushed Alanna to understand what it takes to raise happy, self-motivated, kind, driven and independent children. Play. Learn. Thrive was developed out of her desire to transform the lives of children by encouraging parents to believe in the power of play and empowering them to bring high-quality playback to childhood.  Play. Learn. Thrive. offers a mix of expert insights to help parents become more educated about the importance of play as it relates to development and learning, and more intentional about their children’s toys and play spaces. https://playlearnthrive.com [email protected] Facebook: @playlearnthrivekids Instagram: @Playlearnthrivekids From the podcast: 5 Steps to Encourage Independent Play Minimize toys Provide open-ended toys (that do no more than 10% of the work) Organize in a way that makes sense for the child Make it a “yes” space Time and space away from adults   Thanks for listening! It means so much to me that you listened to my podcast! If you would like to purchase my book or other parenting resources, visit me at www.yellingcurebook.com With this podcast, my intention is to build a community of parents that can have open and honest conversations about parenting without judgement or criticism.  We have too much of that!  I honor each parent and their path towards becoming the best parent they can be.  My hope is to inspire more parents to consider the practice of Peaceful Parenting. If you know somebody who would benefit from this message, or would be an awesome addition to our community, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a note in the comment section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe on the podcast app on your mobile device. Leave a review I appreciate every bit of feedback to make this a value-adding part of your day. Ratings and reviews from listeners not only help me improve, but also help others find me in their podcast app. If you have a minute, an honest review on iTunes goes a long way! Thank You!! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices