The Importance of Being Little | New York Times Bestselling Author Erika Christakis

Early childhood educator ERIKA CHRISTAKIS has dedicated her life to small children. This former preschool teacher and director, Yale Child Study Center lecturer, and mother of three chats with Ellie Knaus about her New York Times bestseller "The Importance of Being Little: What Preschoolers Really need From Grownups." Preschool has become the new Kindergarten, and that's a problem! She shares research that backs up the importance of play based, exploratory learning. And she talks about how classrooms are falling short with all their worksheets and tests and meaningless crafts, and how we can give our little ones what they need! On Atomic Moms podcast, Christakis says:

I keep coming back to this use of time. Many of the problems that we have with little kids, I think have to do with our rushing them. We don't give them the time to just do stuff on their own timetable. Whether your child is in childcare

or whether you're at home with your child, there are ways that we can slow down and open up the schedule. Be less vigilant in terms of making kids jump through hoops to do certain things at certain times. It takes a shift. I think we've all been programmed to think that if we have a schedule packed with activities, that somehow means that we're a good parent or a good teacher. We have to slow down and have more faith in kids. Sometimes less really is more.

For more on this interview and podcast notes, check out this website throughout the week. xo Ellie

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