147: Understanding Children's Needs for More Independent Play With Blanca of Whole Child Home

We are now back on The Balanced Parent podcast! As you all know, we focus on our children's play every January. And I would like to invite you to join me in my 30 Days of Play Challenge. As part of this challenge, the episodes on the podcast for this month will be all about PLAY! Yay! ​ To start the month off, I wanted to focus on one of the most common questions I get: How can I get my kids to play more independently? The secret to getting more of the coveted independent play we first have to figure out what's getting in the way currently. The play challenge will help you carefully observe your child and get curious about the things that may be blocking independent play in your own family, and in this episode, we will be digging into the underlying needs children have that need to be met in order for them to get into deeply immersive independent play. To help me in this conversation, I have brought in the genius behind one of my favorite Instagram accounts: Blanca of Whole Child Home. ​ ​Blanca is a licensed professional counselor with graduate training in clinical psychology who specializes in supporting children’s mental and behavioral health. She is also a parent of a toddler and is now pouring all her professional training into something she has always been passionate about—empowering parents to nurture healthy emotional development at home with evidence-based strategies. She founded Whole Child Home to offer parents an online platform with workshops, social media bits, and personalized consults to guide parents and caregivers worldwide.