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what is free play

what is free play and what are the benefits for young children

Social & Emotional Development | Thrive

What is Free Play and Why is it Important for Kids

Together we’ll slow down, stop rushing our kids through life and raise lifelong learners who will become confident and independent adults.

thealannagallo

📖 Former teacher (M Ed.) turned secular homeschooler
🚫 Reducing screen time + rethinking school
🌱Raising confident, curious, real-world ready kids ↓

Your 8-year-old knows what Skibidi Toilet is… bu

Your 8-year-old knows what Skibidi Toilet is… but doesn’t know how to ride a bike.And that’s not judgment: it’s a mirror.We’ve built a world where kids can navigate YouTube better than their own neighborhoods.
Where they can follow entire “lore universes” online… but struggle to focus through a simple storybook.It’s not that kids have changed.
It’s that childhood has.Because the culture they’re growing up in rewards constant noise, instant dopamine, and endless distraction.
And if we’re not intentional, that becomes their normal.But here’s the good news:
we can change that story.
We can raise kids who know how to think, create, and live offline again.✨ That’s why I wrote Uninfluenceable... to help parents raise kids grounded in who they are, not what the algorithm tells them to be.💥 Comment WAITLIST and I’ll send you the link to join.
When you do, you’ll also get my 5-Step Screen Reset Course (a $27 value) completely free when the book launches.

Every time I hear parents say, “But everyone in

Every time I hear parents say, “But everyone in their class already has Instagram,” I think about this:
When we delay social media, it’s not about sheltering kids. It’s about giving them more time to become themselves before outside voices drown them out.When kids know who they are without the influence of likes and comments, they’ll be stronger and more ready when the time comes.That’s why one of the core messages in Uninfluenceable is this: delaying social media is a gift, not a punishment.📖 Launches October 22. If you’re on the waitlist and purchase during launch, you’ll get my 5-Step Screen Reset Mini Course FREE.👋 Comment WAITLIST to get the link.

We didn’t grow up with constant notifications or

We didn’t grow up with constant notifications or curated feeds...
and yet somehow, we’re raising the most influenced generation in history.Not because kids have changed.
But because their world has.And when every moment is mediated by a screen, kids lose something we once took for granted:
boredom, imagination, autonomy, presence.It’s on us: the ones who remember a world before algorithms... to protect that space again.To raise kids who know who they are without needing a feed to tell them.That’s what Uninfluenceable is all about: helping parents reclaim childhood from the noise and raise grounded, screen-conscious kids.💥 Comment WAITLIST and I’ll send you the link to join.
When you do, you’ll also get my 5-Step Screen Reset Course (a $27 value) completely free when the book launches.

Before, “learning” meant sitting still, follow

Before, “learning” meant sitting still, following rules, checking boxes.Now? It looks like baking bread, exploring trails, reading under trees: and asking a hundred questions a day.We didn’t leave the classroom to escape learning.
We left so our kids could love it again.✨ That’s the shift I help families make... away from pressure and toward purpose.Follow me, @thealannagallo for more!

People love to tell me homeschooling must be so ha

People love to tell me homeschooling must be so hard.
But here’s the truth: the hardest part isn’t the math lessons or the patience (though trust me, both get tested).The hardest part was unlearning everything I thought school was supposed to look like.I had to let go of the idea that “real learning” only happens at a desk.
I had to stop measuring my kids against arbitrary grade-level standards.
I had to remind myself that childhood isn’t a race: it’s a journey.✨ That’s what deschooling is all about.
And once I leaned into it, everything got lighter. Learning started to feel like life, not a checklist.You don’t have to have it all figured out.
You just have to ask: What does my child really need?Follow me, @thealannagallo for a further look at homeschooling and to start a homeschooling journey of your very own! 💡

Before algorithms raised our kids… they begged f

Before algorithms raised our kids…
they begged for five more minutes outside.Now? Too many are begging for five more minutes on YouTube.It’s not that kids have changed: it’s the world around them.
And if we don’t protect space for real play, exploration, and connection, the default will always be screens.✨ That’s why I wrote Uninfluenceable 📚... to help parents raise kids who are grounded in who they are, not what the algorithm tells them to be.💥 Comment WAITLIST and I’ll send you the link to join.
When you do, you’ll also get my 5-Step Screen Reset Course (a $27 value) for free when the book launches.

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