Hidden Language of Children

This episode reveals the origins of bullying in children, and considers 4 important factors in its prevention and intervention: the bully, the victim, the audience and the responsible grownups/caregivers.

When your child has an Individual Education Plan (IEP), it can feel like a full-time job. In this episode, Dr. Kimberly Bell discusses the big issues and emotions that can arise, and how to work through them.

Magical thinking refers to the way children try to understand the unfamiliar when they don't have the knowledge, life experience or critical thinking capabilities that separate reality from fantasy. This conversation talks about the phase and how parents can support their children through it.

We talk about the developmental stages of children, but what about parents? Grownups go through their own transitions that can be every bit as challenging. In this episode, we validate the bumpy stages of the parenting experience - from individual to expectant parent to parent of infants, then toddlers and older children.

By age 6, children typically display empathy toward others. But it doesn't just happen. This episode looks at the building blocks of empathy and how parents help to put them together.

The words punishment, discipline and consequences are often used loosely in conversations about the ongoing job of raising children who know how to do the right thing. Dr. Kimberly Bell defines the terms and discusses an approach that's both effective and kind.

An interesting discussion about the history of early learning in America, why it matters, and how Cleveland became a center of excellence for early childhood development.

Bonus reel: Replacing things adults often say to children with kinder, developmentally mindful alternatives. Another compilation of "Let's Rephrase That" segments from the Hidden Language of Children podcast.

People are often surprised to learn that toddlers and preschoolers can benefit from "talk therapy." In this episode, we discuss the reasons such young children are getting help, and how it's provided through a discipline called "therapy via the parent."

A conversation with Social Worker Anita Eddie, MA, ATR, MSSA, LISW-S about Halloween with young children. Parents often remember Halloween as good, scary fun - and they want to share that with their children. But the youngest children - typically 5 and under - can't yet separate reality from fantasy. So scary fun is just scary.

Host Dr. Kimberly Bell talks with Adrianne Fletcher, Ph. D., an educator, psychotherapist and author of children's books about the developmental meaning of conversations parents and children have when enjoying reading together. You can find Dr. Fletcher's books on Amazon.com by clicking the links below. Purchases generate a small commission for non-profit Hanna Perkins Center, which produc...

A special episode on what children need, and how to talk with them, about the most recent school shooting or other gun violence. Featuring host Dr. Kimberly Bell in conversation with Hidden Language of Children producer Bob Rosenbaum.

In the first episode of season 2, host Dr. Kimberly Bell Kim is joined by Dr. Tovah Klein, author of "How Toddlers Thrive" and "Raising Resilience" for a conversation about how parents can help children develop resilience to difficult moments, unwanted surprises and other adversities.

In a relevant departure from our usual early-childhood topics, we expand on the concept of "behavior as communication" in a conversation with Dr. Dan Ratner, author of Crushing Doubt (www.crushingdoubt.com), about the important role of the mind in managing chronic pain and discomfort.

Rique Sollisch, an early childhood consultant with Hanna Perkins Center, shares her noteworthy approach to talking with young children in a way that helps them undertand, discuss and gain mastery of their feelings.

Ideas for developmentally mindful ways to talk with young children. Compilation of "Let's Rephrase That" segments from the Hidden Language of Children podcast.

Laura Cyrocki, director of healthy meals and garden programs at Hanna Perkins School, discusses why gardening is such a fertile activity for developmental growth, and offers suggestions for getting young children started in the garden.

We talk with Training Director Pam Millar about the importance of a trusting and empathetic relationship between early learning teachers and parents. The discussion addresses why the relationship is so important, and what teachers and parents alike can do to make sure it's working.

We talk with child psychoanalyst Margaret Zerba, Ph. D. about the challenges for children and parents alike during each of the developmental stages that all children experience: infancy, toddlerhood, school age and adolescence.

A conversation with social worker and therapist Anita M. Eddie, MA, ATR, MSSA, LISW-S about the meaning of behaviors that can arise as a child's conscience begins to develop.

Taryn Ponsky, M.A., LPCC, a psychotherapist and child development specialist, discusses separation anxiety in young children - where it comes from, how to deal with it, and how it differs from ordinary separation feelings.

Mom and professional photographer Kim Sable shares her experience with twins in an early learning program that emphasizes social-emotional development. It wasn't always perfect, but it's still paying benefits years later - to children and parents alike.

In follow-up to the discussion about normal development in episode 2, Debby Paris returns to address the question, "If normal is so messy and individualized, how do you know when things have gotten off track?"

Social worker/therapist Deborah Paris, LISW, discusses the two-steps-forward and one-step-back nature of healthy child development, and offers words of comfort for parents who worry about developmental timelines.

We talk with early childhood development expert Barbara Streeter about "the inner life of children": The ideas and emotions they have, but without the life experience or vocabulary to understand them. So diffficult thoughts get acted out through troubling behavior. As adults, we can't offer the help and reassurance they need until we figure out what's really behind the behavior.