3-min read
2025-08-26
3-min read
Development isn’t a race. It’s a flow.
Every child—and parent—is figuring it out at their own pace.
Instead of milestones, we encourage you to focus on this amazing moment.
Your child’s brain makes more than one million neural connections per second in these first three years. Simple, consistent interactions with them today can have profound, lifelong benefits.
Here’s how little one’s brain is developing this month, and how you can support their progress.
Developmental Highlight
Little one’s not a baby anymore, but they’re not a big kid, either. They’re in the middle—and so are you.
This month, we’re focusing on the middle way. The journey, not the destination. The transitions, setbacks, and little moments of progress, not the happy ending. Embracing the middle way fosters growth mindset thinking, which we explored in month 25. With a growth mindset, little one believes they’re capable of gaining new skills and increasing competence through practice. Hard work, perseverance, determination, and effort are all components of a growth mindset.
You can optimize little one’s development by helping them experience the middle way. Make it concrete by showing them that between hot and cold water is warm, between black and white is gray. Most importantly, between the beginning and end of a story is the middle.
Brain-Building Activity
Praise The Process
Routine: Anytime
Praise shows little one that you notice their efforts, but not all praise fosters growth mindset thinking. Keep these tips in mind as you watch little one make strides:
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If you’re praising an outcome, you’ve skipped the middle way and gone right to the end. Praising process falls within the middle way. This shift can be as simple as saying “good trying,” instead of “good job.”
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Avoid excessive praise about something that comes naturally to little one. This can create pressure and fragile confidence. Instead, focus your praise on efforts within little one’s control. This encourages persistence.
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Avoid comparing little one to others.
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Encourage little one to feel pride in themselves after making a good effort. “You worked so hard on that! How do you feel? Do you feel proud?”
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You can also communicate interest and attention without offering praise. “I love the colors and shapes in your drawing. Tell me more about how you made them.”
You’ve Got This
You deserve some praise and opportunities to reflect, too.
This about your process right now, in the middle of your journey. Not just the parenting part. All of it.
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What efforts are you proudest of?
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What skills are you still working on?
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How can you embrace the middle way more each day?
You’ve got this. Actually, you’re getting this.
