Play Is the Work: The 1-to-5 Playbook

Michelle Frongillo
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  • Parenting
  • Weekly

Play Is the Work: The 1-to-5 Playbook is real talk on early childhood development with Michelle — a educator for 25+ years, owner of Little Joey's Learning Pad, and mom of three. Each episode decodes what's really going on with your 1-to-5-year-old, and what actually helps. Because play isn't the break from learning. Play is the work. Playbook Parenting: Downloadable Guides and Tools - https://www.etsy.com/listing/4594793659/developmental-red-flags-guide-ages-1-5

Episodes

  1. 2d ago

    How to Get Your Kid to Play on Their Own.

    You're sitting on the bathroom floor — not because you need to be in the bathroom, but because it's the only room in your house with a lock. And then: little fingers under the door. "Mommy? Can you come play with me?" In this episode, I break down why your kid doesn't need you to play with them every minute — and how to teach them to play on their own. You'll hear what independent play actually is (with realistic minutes by age, so you can stop aiming at a fantasy), why it feels impossible (proximity is the point, too many toys, we keep interrupting it, and the guilt), the classic scenes (the bathroom door, the playroom box, the "watch me" loop, and sibling sabotage), plus seven things you can actually do this week — word for word. Independent play is a skill I teach at Little Joey's, and I watch one-, two-, and three-year-olds learn it every single week. It works. Next episode: the "watch me!" phase — why your kid needs you to witness every single thing they do, and how to survive it without becoming a full-time audience. Parent guides: https://www.etsy.com/shop/PlaybookParenting

    How to Get Your Kid to Play on Their Own.

  2. Nov 6

    Stop Entertaining Your Kid

    If your Saturday already included three songs, a block tower, and a sensory bin your kid abandoned after ninety seconds — only to hear "I'm boooored" — this one's for you. In this episode, I break down why your kid doesn't need a cruise director: boredom is your child's brain switching into search mode, and the good play is on the other side of the fifteen-minute hump. You'll hear why we can't stop entertaining (guilt, comparison, and our own phone habit), the classic scenes (the thirty-second "I'm bored," the toy room and the box, the car without the tablet, and the kitchen shadow), plus seven things you can actually do this week — word for word. Next episode: how do you actually get a kid to play on their own? Parent guides: https://playbookparenting.etsy.com

    Stop Entertaining Your Kid

  3. Oct 30

    Why They Only Eat Beige Food

    If your kid's dinner looks like it got its color settings turned all the way down, this one's for you. Chicken nuggets, plain pasta, white bread, crackers — and a single piece of broccoli treated like a betrayal. In this episode, I break down why the beige phase isn't picky eating gone wrong: it's your child's brain sorting the world into safe and unknown. You'll hear the science (food neophobia, sensory overload, the appetite drop after year one, and control), the classic scenes (the restaurant kids menu, Grandma's "just one bite" standoff, the broccoli betrayal, foods that can't touch, and the hidden-veggie fallout), plus seven things you can actually do this week — word for word. Next episode: Stop Entertaining Your Kid. Parent guides: https://playbookparenting.etsy.com

    Why They Only Eat Beige Food

  4. Oct 23

    The Tantrum Decoder

    The cup was the wrong color. The candy was at eye level. And now your three-year-old is flat on the checkout-line floor — and every reasonable word out of your mouth is somehow making it worse. In this episode, I'm decoding the tantrum: what's actually happening in your child's brain mid-meltdown (the alarm system is blaring and the thinking brain has literally gone offline), why your logic can't reach them in that moment, and the three things that actually help — get low, get quiet, get close; say less, not more; ride it out, then repair. Plus the one thing that makes it worse (we've all done it), word-for-word scripts for the checkout line, the playground exit, and the wrong-color cup, and clear lines on what's normal vs. when to mention it to your pediatrician. Your child isn't giving you a hard time. They're having a hard time. Here's how to be the harbor, not the second storm. Next episode: Why They Only Eat Beige Food Parent guides: https://playbookparenting.etsy.com

    The Tantrum Decoder

  5. Oct 16

    Why your toddler says NO to everything!

    Your two-year-old's entire vocabulary has collapsed into one word: no. No to breakfast. No to the red shirt. No to the playground they begged for yesterday. In this episode, Michelle — teacher for 25+ years, owner of Little Joey's Learning Pad, and mom of three — breaks down why the "no" phase is actually a developmental triumph: what's happening in your toddler's brain (hello, prefrontal cortex under construction), why "no" is their first real power word, and 7 word-for-word scripts you can steal this week — including the two-choice trick that will save your mornings. No power struggles required. (Okay, fewer power struggles.) Next episode: The Tantrum Decoder Playbook Parenting Guides: https://playbookparenting.etsy.com

    Why your toddler says NO to everything!

  6. Oct 10

    Play Is the Work

    Your two-year-old dumps out a bin of blocks, stares at the pile, and walks away. Did they learn anything? More than a worksheet would teach them all week. In the premiere of Play Is the Work: The 1-to-5 Playbook, Michelle — teacher for 25+ years, owner of Little Joey's Learning Pad, and mom of three — breaks down why play IS the learning for ages 1–5: what your child's brain is actually doing during play, what productive play looks like at every age, and 4 things you can try this week. No flashcards required. 🛒 My Etsy shop — developmental guides for parents, ages 1–5: https://playbookparenting.etsy.com

    Play Is the Work
  • 6 Episodes

About

Play Is the Work: The 1-to-5 Playbook is real talk on early childhood development with Michelle — a educator for 25+ years, owner of Little Joey's Learning Pad, and mom of three. Each episode decodes what's really going on with your 1-to-5-year-old, and what actually helps. Because play isn't the break from learning. Play is the work. Playbook Parenting: Downloadable Guides and Tools - https://www.etsy.com/listing/4594793659/developmental-red-flags-guide-ages-1-5

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