What this book contains is hope. The struggle may be real, but there are solutions.

If you are currently working with, or parenting children, you are well aware of the many challenges facing this generation. Rising rates of everything, including developmental and speech delays, fine and gross motor deficits, ADHD, depression, anxiety, sensory processing issues, learning disabilities, autism, obesity, food allergies, and the list goes on. Combine this with crowded classrooms, school violence, and high-stakes testing, and it's no wonder that educators and parents are feeling overwhelmed.

While 1 in 3 children carry some sort of formal diagnosis, no child is untouched. The reality is we have been doing the same thing for years, but expecting better results. So what if we tried a different approach?

Something happened that led to the challenges the authors and their colleagues continue to see in their classrooms and beyond. Some of the "culprits" are obvious, but others require a deeper dive to understand their impact.

This book addresses the synergistic effect between:

• the lack of creative play and movement
• poor nutrition
• overscheduled lifestyles
• overuse of screens

Monica and Perk introduce the readers to the scientifically proven concept of neuroplasticity, which has gone largely underutilized in the field of education and mental health. The "culprits" are here to stay, but this doesn’t mean we have to be helpless victims. While the brain has a certain amount of hardwiring at birth, it is capable of great healing and change throughout a lifetime.

Offered is a user-friendly explanation as to how brain wiring occurs, and how it has changed in response to the culprits. Readers can then utilize this knowledge to mitigate and even reverse the negative impact these culprits have had on an entire generation of children.

This book is a call to action. We are at a pivotal crossroads; we can either accept the depressing statistics, or we can be a part of changing them. Monica and Perk offer you the very same knowledge and tools they’ve been using with great success in their own practices, so that you too can start creating positive change in your homes and classrooms today!