Dr. Monty Stambler will speak again about kids' games—the advantages of children playing together using their bodies in rhythmic, repetitive physical activity. Dr. Stambler will also discuss the meaning of kids cheating in games.

Ken Barranger, the Director of the Academy of Physical and Social Development, a wonderful activity program for all kinds of kids that I have considered a valuable resource in the community for decades, will speak about kids’ games that build community while also supporting an individual child’s development.

Katie Clark, Arts Educator and Program Director of the Cambridge-Ellis School talks about games for preschool children that support their cognitive and social and emotional development while they are having fun. 

Dr. Monty Stambler, child and adult psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, and also co-founder with his wife of a children’s game company, Gamrwright, will introduce our new series of “Kids and Games” with a discussion about how children’s games support their psychosocial development. 

Show notes:

Winnicott DW (1971). Playing and Reality, London, Routledge Press.

Butler, & Weatherall, A. (2006). "No, We're Not Playing Families": Membership Categorization in Children's Play. Research on Language and Social Interaction, 39(4), 441–470.

Ramani, Daubert, E. N., & Scalise, N. R. (2019). Role of Play and Games in Building Children's Foundational Numerical Knowledge. In Mathematical Cognition and Learning (Print) (Vol. 5, pp. 69–90).

 The second episode in a series in which the host of this podcast, Alexandra Harrison, child psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, will respond to questions sent in by listeners. In this our second “Ask Me Anything” episode, Dr. Harrison will respond to additional questions from listeners . These questions touch on the subjects of sensory processing and Temperament, and also how to encourage your child to love books and reading.

Show notes:

Blanche E, Gunter J (2020). Sensory processing disorders, Encyclopedia of Infant and Early Development, 2nd edition, Eds. M Haith, J Benson, Volume 2, https://doi.org/10.1016/B8978-0-12-809324-5.23602-X.

May-Benson T, Koomar J (2010). Systematic review of the research evidence of the effectiveness of interventions using a sensory integrative approach for children, Amer J of Occupational Therapy, 64(3):403-414.

https://dgmt.co.za/mother-infant-booksharing-stellenbosch-university-shares-their-implementation-experience/

The first episode in a series in which child psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, Alexandra Harrison, the host of this podcast, will respond to questions sent in by listeners. In this our first “Ask Me Anything” episode, Dr. Harrison will respond to questions about the stress of COVID on children and their caregivers, how to manage childhood tantrums, and how long to let babies cry before picking them up.

Show Notes:

Garner A, Yogman M (2021). Preventing childhood toxic stress: partnering with families and communities to promote relational health, Pediatrics, 148(2), August 2021, e2021052582. www.aappublications.org/news.

Porges S (2015). Making the world safe for our children: Down-regulating defense and up-regulating social engagement to ‘optimise’ the human experience, Children Australia, 40(2):114-123. Doi: 10.1017/cha.2015.12.

Dr. Amy Koel, a developmental psychologist and expert dog trainer, who has been working with adults, children and families and their companion dogs for more than 20 years, will talk to us about ways to enhance communication and understanding between dogs and humans, in order to nurture the development and happiness of both species in their lives together. 

Monique Udell, animal behavior researcher, talks about human-dog bonding, evolutionary factors influencing the social wellbeing of dogs, and intervention programs aimed at improving the lives of dogs and the humans they live with.  

Speaking about his book, Dog is Love: Why and How Your Dog Loves You, Professor Clive Wynne introduces our series of “Dogs and Kids” with a discussion of the amazing capacity of dogs to love us, recalling his certainty that his boyhood dog, Benji, loved him unconditionally. As an adult animal behavior scientist, Prof Wynne studied dogs' amazing capacity to make emotional bonds with humans, and in our discussion he describes experiments demonstrating this bond. 

A quick message about the format of upcoming episodes.