A wood puzzle goes into one toddler’s mouth at 9:15, gets handed to a second child at 9:20, and sits back on the shelf by 9:25. Nobody logged the detour. Six weeks later the same room cycles...

Circle time falls apart for the third morning in a row. Twenty minutes later, the same four-year-old runs a pretend restaurant for half an hour straight — taking orders, negotiating who cooks...

Ten minutes into game time, the scene repeats itself in classrooms everywhere: one child has flipped the board, another has walked off with the dice, and an adult spends the session refereeing instead...

A preschooler who points instead of talking, melts down when asked to describe what happened at school, or cannot follow a two-step instruction is not simply “a late talker.” These...

A preschooler who grabs a toy from a peer, dissolves into tears when a game takes an unexpected turn, or stands frozen when another child cries is not simply misbehaving. These behaviors signal...

A four-year-old who cannot wait for a turn, follow a two-step instruction without losing the first step, or switch from building to cleanup without distress is not simply behaving badly. These...