I remember my childhood fondly, especially the early years. For the most part, my days were filled with games, including those I invented with my siblings and neighborhood friends (indoor hockey using ski poles and plastic doll plates, anyone?); explorations of the surrounding neighborhood; and tons of problem-solving. Whether it was figuring out how to create a go-kart out of bicycle parts or hammering out the rules for whatever we were playing, we were, in general, left alone to figure these things out on our own. My parents had never heard of social and emotional learning (SEL), but they nurtured it in us simply by letting us be kids.