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Observe how your child likes to play.

The first way we began engageing this philosophical practice was simply by observing our child, noticing which toys she was drawn to, and thinking about what she was attempting to master developmentally. As a parent, it can be easy to pressure yourself to be perfect and come up with brilliant activities every day that aim to teach your children. This mentality can lead to high levels of parental stress and feelings of defeat when these new and exciting activities only keep your child actively engaged for a few minutes.

To combat this, try slowing down and observing what set of physical and/or mental skills your child is aiming to master next. Once noted, you can offer play opportunities to your child that adapt to these developmental shifts. For example, if your little one is trying to master pouring, you can set up pouring stations with water outside, give them a spoon or scoop to use with their toys inside, or see if they want to help you pour something to eat or drink. Remember these household shifts don't mean you need to go out and buy anything new. It means noticing the skills they keep going back to that particular day and offering opportunities to play that enable that skill use.

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