A Parent's Guide to Child Development

A toddler's tantrum & a teen's missing homework look like different problems. They're not.Host Annamarie von Firley talks with Executive Function Specialist Diana Pellicano about tracing one line from the high chair to high school — & what parents can do now to change where it ends up.You'll learn: • What executive function really means • What delays look like in toddlers & preschoolers • Why unstructured play matters • A visual routine-building strategy • Whether screen time makes delays worse • How delays connect to ADHD, anxiety, & autismTime Stamps: 0:00 Why do toddler tantrums predict your child's future? 2:50 What is executive function? 4:30 Are humans the only species that can stop, pause, & think to change their behavior to achieve a certain outcome in the future? 4:48 What do good executive functioning skills look like in children? 5:34 What do good executive functioning skills look like in adults? 8:16 What is the difference between verbal & non-verbal working memory? 8:32 Is an executive function delay the same as ADHD? 8:52 How does verbal & non-verbal working memory affect executive functioning skills? 9:34 Is talking to yourself out loud help with verbal working memory? 10:59 How parents who model executive functioning skills & strategies impact children's ability to self-regulate themselves 11:50 Why is self-awareness a part of executive functioning skills? 12:30 Why is self-regulation a part of executive functioning skills? 13:14 Why is self-motivation a part of executive functioning skills? 14:00 Why is self-evaluation a part of executive functioning skills? 15:05 Why is self-language a part of executive functioning skills? 15:20 What are the 5 pillars of executive functioning? 16:14 What age do executive functioning skills start developing? 16:45 How many years behind their classmates in development are children with ADHD & executive functioning delays? 17:34 Why isn't executive function talked about like language milestones? 18:56 What do executive function delays look like in toddlers & preschoolers? 19:38 When is the best time to start teaching executive function strategies & how do you do it? 23:39 Why using real-life visuals help kids build executive functioning skills? 25:20 Why you should not give-in to a child who is throwing a tantrum? 27:22 Does pretend play build executive function skills? 30:05 What is the predictions review model & how does it help with executive functioning & emotional regulation? 31:08 How much should parents help vs. let kids struggle? 32.37 What strategies should parents whose families have a history of ADHD use with their children to help with executive functioning? 33:25 What is a "morning map" & how do you build one? 36:59 Does screen time cause executive function delays? 37:22 Are people with ADHD more prone to screen addiction? 39:29 Does household routine affect a child's self-regulation? 40:26 Do early executive function delays cause struggles in college? 41:56 Why is it important to let your child fail? 43:45 What is the #1 indicator of long-term success? 44:49 What do executive function delays look like in elementary, middle, & high school? 45:24 What is it important for kids & teens to practice social skills in the real world? 50:17 Why parents of an only-child or children who have social anxiety should sign them up for activities & clubs? 51:04 Does executive function delays overlap with ADHD, autism, anxiety, or other conditions? 52:40 Why parents should not do things for their kids that they are able to do on their own?Subscribe & share with a parent who needs this.Guest: Diana Pellicano, Executive Function Specialist & Director of GrowNOW's College Success Program. grownowadhd.com IG @grownowadhdFledglings' Flight offers play-based exercises for kids birth to age 3.FledglingsFlight.com App.FledglingsFlight.com IG/TikTokFB @fledglingsflight LinkedIn: fledglings-flight Pinterest @fledglingsflight

Something most parents don't think about when it comes to the kindergarten cutoff: age isn't the same as readiness. Emily Roper — Neuro-Developmental Delay Therapist and founder of Early Roots — explains why kids, especially boys born right at the start of the age cutoff, may be significantly less likely to get an ADHD diagnosis if they start school a year later.🎧 Full episode on Attention & Regulation — link in below.https://open.spotify.com/episode/1Qlem5gufu0OI2ufhMz4lG?si=bIjdaQ7CTqyr1KUnhzlFBw

A pediatric speech-language pathologist breaks down the exact word-count milestones that trigger a referral to speech therapy — and what's actually normal vs. worth a conversation with your pediatrician.From the full episode with Sarah Schmidt on building your child's vocabulary through reading — listen to the complete conversation on A Parent's Guide.

Struggling to read isn't always about intelligence — and messy handwriting isn't always about carelessness. For a surprising number of kids, the real culprit is a reflex that should have disappeared before their first haircut. In this episode, Emily Roper returns to unpack the Asymmetric Tonic Neck Reflex (ATNR) — the invisible thread connecting how your baby moved in the womb to how your 8-year-old holds a pencil today.Host Annamarie von Firley sits down with Emily Roper, Neurodevelopmental Delay Therapist, certified Midwife's Assistant, and founder of Early Roots, to unpack how a reflex that's supposed to fade by 3 months old can quietly sabotage a child's academic life for years — and get mislabeled as laziness, defiance, ADHD, or dyslexia along the way.What We Cover: • What the ATNR is, and its role in birth, vision, and early hand-eye coordination • Why it needs to integrate so early, and the most common reasons it doesn't • Crossing midline, and why a retained ATNR makes it so hard • How ATNR shapes classroom skills, dominant-hand development, and bilateral coordination • Why handwriting, copying from the board, and written expression are so often affected • The real overlap between dyslexia, ADHD, and a retained ATNR • What's really happening underneath homework battles and meltdowns • Why bike riding, swimming, and ball sports are often affected too • A simple way to check for a retained ATNR at home • Why this so often gets missed, even after years of tutoring or therapy • What the integration process looks like, and how soon parents see changes • Who to reach out to first if this sounds familiarTime Stamps: 00:00 What is the ATNR reflex? 02:53 ATNR's role in birth and delivery 03:35 ATNR and eye development 07:50 Why ATNR must integrate by 3 months 09:53 Common reasons ATNR doesn't integrate 12:05 ATNR's link to reading level 14:24 Crossing midline & retained ATNR 17:40 ATNR and dominant-hand development 21:00 Helping a child who skips words reading 25:53 Handwriting as a sign of retained ATNR 30:02 Why writing is harder than speaking 31:00 Dyslexia vs. retained ATNR 34:58 "ADHD" behavior vs. retained ATNR 37:40 What's behind homework battles 40:14 Biking, swimming & ball sports struggles 43:47 Checking for retained ATNR at home 45:14 Why retained ATNR gets missed 46:37 What integration looks like 48:52 Who to reach out to for helpResources: Book: Reflexes, Learning, & Behavior by Sally Goddard Blythe Institute of Neuro-Physiological Psychology: https://www.inpp.org.ukAbout Emily Roper: Neuro-Developmental Delay Therapist, certified Midwife's Assistant, and founder of Early Roots. Emily has backgrounds in psychology, midwifery, and neurodevelopmental delay, and has spent over a decade supporting children with ADHD, autism, anxiety, dyslexia, sensory challenges, and other developmental difficulties. instagram.com/earlyroots facebook.com/earlyrootsAbout Annamarie von Firley: After 20 years running her fashion house, reVamp, Annamarie returned to her toy design roots and founded Adventuretown Toy Emporium in 2016.About Fledglings' Flight: Play-based exercises for children birth to age 3, supporting cognitive, motor, and social-emotional development, with a monthly exercise library and milestone tracking in our app.Follow us: FledglingsFlight.com app.FledglingsFlight.com Instagram/TikTok/Facebook: @fledglingsflight LinkedIn: fledglings-flightMusic: Purple Planet Music