Welcome to Sandbox Notes

I’m Steve Shaw—a child development student, dad, and someone who can’t stop connecting the dots between research and real life. This blog is my sandbox: a space to dig, build, knock things over, and see what ideas take shape.

Here’s what you’ll find here:

• Reflections, not lectures. I write the way I’d talk to a friend over coffee—curious, questioning, and sometimes playful.
• Research that sticks. I pull in studies from psychology, neuroscience, and education, but translate them into everyday language so they actually make sense.
• Real-life connections. I tie big concepts back to classrooms, parenting, and personal experience—because theory only matters if we can see it in action.
• Nuance. Development isn’t one-size-fits-all. Kids grow at different rhythms, cultures set different expectations, and resilience can shift a tough start into a hopeful story.

Why “Sandbox Notes”? Because child development is like a sandbox: it’s messy, creative, and full of possibilities. The notes I jot down here are my way of exploring the science while staying grounded in the human side of growing up.

I’m not claiming to have all the answers. I’m still learning. But I think that’s the point—the best discoveries happen when we keep playing, keep questioning, and keep building.

So whether you’re a parent, a student, or just curious about how humans grow, I hope you’ll pull up a spot in the sandbox with me.