About
Meet Lauren Hayes and the story behind Playful Minds Lab
I am a kindergarten educator with a B.Ed. in Early Childhood Education and 15 years in the classroom. My work is grounded in secure attachment, authoritative parenting, and the belief that the first years of life shape a child’s long term sense of safety and steadiness. I see calm presence as more important than perfect technique, and play as the practice ground for every early skill. Every product I recommend must earn its place through real classroom use, not marketing claims. Playful Minds Lab is where I share that work with families around the world.
I write from a quiet corner. I am more comfortable with a picture book in my lap and four year olds on the rug than with a camera, and I keep my personal life offline on purpose. If you look for my face on social media, you will not find it. The illustration above is honest about that. It stands in for me on the page so you know a real educator is here, without asking me to perform online in ways that would take me away from the work.
What I share is the work itself. Fifteen years of classroom experience, honest recommendations, and content written by an educator for parents. If you are looking for calm, practical guidance from someone who has actually taught young children through these transitions, you are in the right place.
Playful Minds Lab is an educator led resource for parents of children ages 0 to 7. I built this space to help families move through the biggest transitions of early childhood: starting daycare, building screen free rhythms at home, and getting ready for school.
From the classroom
A few Septembers ago, a mother brought her son to my classroom on his very first morning. He clung to her leg. She looked at me over his head with tears in her eyes and whispered, “I do not know how to do this.”
By the middle of the third week, that same boy walked in, hung his own coat on the hook, and waved goodbye without turning around. He had not changed. What changed was a small set of predictable rituals we built together, at school and at home, that made goodbye safe.
That moment is why Playful Minds Lab exists. Fifteen years of watching that same story play out, in hundreds of variations, taught me one thing. Parents do not need more information. They need a method.
Every child settles into daycare in their own time. Some in three days, some in three weeks. Some need a longer runway. My job, in the classroom and here on this site, is to help you read your child, not to hand you a one size timeline. My work draws from secure attachment and authoritative parenting, and one simple idea. Most of a child’s early sense of safety comes from a calm adult beside them, not from getting every parenting move right.
The Gentle Start Method
The Gentle Start Method is the framework I use in the classroom and now share through ebook “Daycare Ready Without Tears”. It rests on three ideas.
- Predictable rituals over pep talks. Children settle when the sequence of a day is clear. Words come second.
- Small skills first, big transitions second. A child who can put on their own shoes handles drop off better than a child who was told they will be fine.
- Play is the practice ground. Every classroom skill can be practiced through play at home, without worksheets or drills.
What I help with
Three moments in early childhood cause the most anxiety for parents. Playful Minds Lab focuses here first.
Starting daycare or preschool
Separation anxiety, drop off tears, the first three weeks. Rituals and scripts that make the goodbye predictable.
Start here: Signs Your Child Is Ready for Daycare
Building screen free rhythms
Toy rotation, quiet independent play, and choosing resources that support how a child actually learns.
Start here: Best Montessori Toys for Preschoolers
Getting ready for school
The year before kindergarten, the skills teachers actually look for, and how to build them through play. The full School Ready program is in development. A free readiness checklist is coming first.
Daycare Ready Without Tears
If your child is starting daycare or preschool in the next few weeks, this is the resource I built for you. Sixteen pages of the exact rituals, scripts, and week by week plan I use with families from my classroom.
Drop off without tears by week two, in most cases. €12 on Payhip.
My standard for this site
Everything here comes from the classroom, not a marketing team. I write as an educator, for parents, without medical claims or therapy language, and without shortcuts that skip how young children actually develop. If I have not tested a product with real families or in my own classroom, it does not make it onto this site.
Lauren Hayes
Early Childhood Educator, Playful Minds Lab
Where to start
Not sure what to read first? Try one of these:
- Signs Your Child Is Ready for Daycare, the pillar article for daycare season
- Best Montessori Toys for Preschoolers and Early Learners
- Kids Travel Essentials, A Road Trip Survival Guide
Playful Minds Lab is an independent educator brand. For press or partnership inquiries, use the Contact page.