A–Z Glossary

Sensory sensitivity

Sensory sensitivity is heightened difficulty tolerating sensations such as noise, textures, bathing, dressing, or crowded environments.

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Lighting noise privacy and comfort settings

Lighting noise privacy and comfort settings

Why the room environment matters Birth care happens in a physiologically demanding moment, but the setting still affects how that moment is experienced. A room that is overly bright, noisy, or visually exposed can heighten vigilance and make it harder to rest between contractions, feed a newborn, or recover after delivery. By contrast, a calmer […]

Arts crafts and music creative expression children

Arts crafts and music creative expression children

Why creative expression matters in childhood Children learn through action, repetition, and meaningful play. Arts, crafts, and music provide all three. When a child tears paper, shapes clay, shakes a rattle, or chooses colors for a drawing, they are practicing decision-making, cause-and-effect reasoning, and flexible thinking. These experiences also invite curiosity, which is an important […]

Encouraging creativity children activities

Encouraging creativity children activities

Why creativity matters in child development Creativity is often described as the ability to generate original and useful ideas. In children, it also includes curiosity, symbolic thinking, flexible attention, and the confidence to try something unfamiliar. These abilities are not separate from everyday development; they are woven into play, language, motor skills, and social learning. […]

Loose parts play: using everyday objects for creative play

Loose parts play: using everyday objects for creative play

What loose parts play means Loose parts play means giving children everyday objects that can be moved, combined, stacked, sorted, carried, torn apart, and rebuilt. The key feature is not what the object is, but what the child can do with it. A cardboard tube may become a telescope, a bridge, a megaphone, or part […]

Flexible vs strict routine children

Flexible vs strict routine children

What flexible and strict routines look like A flexible routine has recurring anchors but does not require every event to happen at an exact time or in an identical way. For example, a child may have a consistent bedtime sequence—washing, changing, reading, and settling—while the start time shifts slightly on weekends or after an appointment. […]