It’s hard for us—just like it was for our parents—to know how to allow rough-and-tumble play. For one thing, many of us never did it—either because it was stopped by our parents or, in some cases, because we were raised as girls, and “girls don’t roughhouse.”

This post will help you learn why roughhousing —when we do it WITH our kids—can be such a great thing to try. And it will help you get started (and keep going!) in a way that is safe and helpful for everyone.