Dr. Deb Zupito It is worth celebrating one of the simplest tools that supports some of the most significant growth in early childhood, the humble puzzle. A puzzle may look like a quiet table activity, yet for a young child, it is a full-brain workout. Every piece invites thinking, trying, adjusting, and trying again. That process builds far more than a finished picture; it builds the foundations for learning and resilience. What Puzzles Support: ·      Problem Solving: Childr

Dr. Deb Zupito Parenting today often looks like holding everything at once. The schedules, the emotions, the expectations, the invisible mental load, and the quiet belief that good parents keep going, no matter how depleted they feel. Many parents are not just tired, they are living in a near-constant state of overwhelm. From a nervous system lens, that matters more than we realize. According to Dan Siegel, when stress is ongoing and unrelenting, the brain shifts into surviva

Dr. Deb Zupito Somewhere along the way, childhood became busy. Morning alarms. Fast breakfasts. Back-to-back activities. Late bedtimes. Calendars that look more like adult work schedules than childhood rhythms. We tell ourselves it is just a season. Children need enrichment. That staying busy is good for them. But when young children move through their days in a constant state of hurry, their nervous systems absorb that pressure, even when no one intends it. Young children ar

Dr. Deb Zupito The Pressure to Do More, Sooner You cannot build literacy on a nervous system that is still in a state of survival. Yet right now, many preschoolers are being asked to do more, sooner. Write their names earlier. Sit longer. Perform academically before their bodies and brains are ready. This pressure often comes wrapped in fear. If we do not push now, children will somehow fall behind. However, developmental science, as well as what we observe daily in high-qual

Dr. Deb Zupito Parents hear it constantly: Stay calm and present. Use gentle language. Hold the boundary. Regulate yourself first. And many parents nod along, thinking, 'Yes, absolutely, this is the goal, I believe in this…' right up until their child is screaming because the banana broke in half, and suddenly calm feels like a luxury item not included in parenting. Here is the part that is often overlooked. When a child is dysregulated, the adult nervous system does not stay

Dr Deb Zupito When Learning Does Not Look the Way We Expect If learning were neat and predictable, parenting would feel a lot easier. Skills would arrive on schedule, progress would move in straight lines, and no one would be sitting on the bathroom floor wondering why a child who "just did this yesterday" suddenly cannot or will not do it today. But that is not how development works. And honestly, that version would be boring. Real learning is messy, it is loud and uneven, a