Author: Firefly Ed
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Understanding Boredom Intolerance – When A Child Can’t Entertain Themselves
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At a Glance Your child says “I’m bored” a lot. Even when there’s plenty to do. They come to you for ideas. You suggest something. They try it for a few minutes, then they’re back. You’ve bought art supplies. You’ve signed them up for activities. You’ve filled the shelves. And still, they can’t seem to…
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Could Your Child’s Messy Handwriting Be a Motor Skills Issue?
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At a Glance The Handwriting That Doesn’t Get Better Your child’s handwriting looked shaky in first grade. You figured they’d grow out of it. They didn’t. Second grade came. Third grade. Now they’re older, supposedly more coordinated, supposedly more capable. And the handwriting is still not as it ought to be. The letters don’t sit…
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The Child Who Can Tell Stories But Can’t Write Them Down
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At a Glance When Speaking and Writing Don’t Match A child comes home and talks about their day with a clear beginning, middle, and end. When something interests them, they explain it in detail and with confidence. Then comes the writing homework. A few words. Shaky handwriting. A sentence that trails off. It can look…
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Why A Bright Child Struggles With Reading (And What Actually Helps)
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At a Glance When Ability and Reading Don’t Match Some children understand complex topics, follow detailed conversations, and remember what they’ve been told — but struggle with reading in ways that seem at odds with everything else they can do. This disconnect is more common than it might seem, and more understandable once the difference…
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When Fear of Being Wrong Stops Children From Learning
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At a Glance When Mistakes Feel Unbearable Some children avoid any task where they might make a mistake. They erase correct answers, won’t attempt anything unfamiliar, and hold back in class even when they know the material. Getting something wrong feels worse to them than not trying at all. This isn’t laziness or lack of…
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Do Academic Struggles Affect A Child’s Self-Esteem
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At a Glance When Learning Becomes Personal When a child struggles in reading, writing, or mathematics, they rarely think “this subject is difficult.” More often, the conclusion they draw is “I am not smart enough.” Academic experiences carry emotional weight, particularly during early and middle childhood. Repeated difficulty or negative feedback can quietly shift how…
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Why Some Children Struggle With Math — And What Actually Helps
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At a Glance When Math Becomes the Problem Subject Math is the subject most children say they hate, and the one where confidence tends to collapse earliest. By upper primary, many children have decided they’re simply not math people. That conclusion is often wrong — and usually premature. In many cases, the issue isn’t the…
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Choosing TV for Young Children: What the Research Suggests
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At a Glance Why Young Children Process TV Differently Children aged 2-6 are in what developmental researchers call the preoperational stage. They learn primarily through imitation and cannot yet reliably distinguish fantasy from reality. A 9-year-old watching Tom and Jerry understands it’s exaggerated. A 3-year-old watching the same show simply absorbs what they see. They…
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How Books Build Better Brains Than Screens
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Books vs Screens: At a Glance How Reading and Screens Shape the Brain Differently Here is the fundamental difference: when a child watches a screen, the brain receives information. When a child reads, the brain creates it. That distinction shapes development in measurable ways. Reading demands active mental work. Children must imagine scenes, predict outcomes,…
Firefly Ed 