Babylon Physical Therapist’s Book Explains What Every Parent Should Know About Child Development

BABYLON, N.Y — Dr. Crystal Miller, a Babylon Village resident, longtime physical therapist specializing in child development, and now a first-time author, has spent more than a decade observing how children learn, struggle, cope, and grow inside schools. Her debut book, Kid MAGIC Unlocked: A Grown-up’s Guide for Re-imagining Education to Cultivate the Limitless Potential of Every Child, launched Nov. 18 and will be celebrated at a community event this Sunday, Nov. 23, from 3 to 5 p.m. at Babylon Bean.

Miller, 42, is the founder of How To Be A Kid, a professional development program that provides teachers with strategies, resources, and support grounded in child development and neuroscience. When she looks at a classroom, she doesn’t just see students. She sees developing nervous systems, brains shaped by movement, and children navigating a world that, she argues, is no longer built for them.

With more than 14 years in physical therapy and human movement, Miller has worked across numerous settings, including trauma rehab, hospitals, professional athletics, Broadway, and — most critically — more than a dozen school districts such as Babylon, Port Washington, and Fire Island.

In school settings, she discovered that syncing movement with academic learning yielded unexpected benefits: stronger focus, improved emotional regulation, and higher confidence. Teachers saw it too, and soon began inviting her into their classrooms to explain the links between neuroscience, movement, and learning.

Her book took nearly two years to complete. She wrote every chapter, hand-illustrated every diagram, and integrated a developmental milestone guide spanning birth through age 18 — a resource she found missing in existing materials. At the center of the book is a five-part framework she developed while working with students.

The MAGIC Model calls on adults to meet the child where they’re at; assess for developmental needs; guide using whole-body strategies; incorporate supports into daily routines; and create a nurturing environment.

The model emerged from a tension she saw everywhere: adults were unsure whether to fully accept children as they are or try to “fix” what they struggled with. Miller teaches that both can be true at once.

“Kids who are struggling don’t want to be told they’re fine, you know, in the first place,” she said. “But they also want to know that they’re loved and accepted.”

One of the defining features of the book is Miller’s ability to translate complex neuroscience into practical, human explanations.

“It’s taking complex topics, breaking them down and making them more human,” she said.

Part of the urgency behind the book came from what Miller saw daily in schools — and from national data showing the scale of the challenge.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1 in 6 U.S. children has a developmental disability, and nearly 1 in 5 youth ages 3 to 17 has been diagnosed with a mental, emotional, or behavioral health condition.

The crisis extends into adolescence: suicide is now the second leading cause of death among Americans ages 10 to 24, federal data shows. The CDC also reports that autism prevalence has climbed sharply over two decades, reaching 1 in 36 children — including 1 in 22 boys — while ADHD affects roughly 1 in 9 children nationwide.

In Miller’s view, many of these challenges stem from developmental interruptions in early childhood, the period during which 80 percent of brain growth occurs.

“We’re basically building a house on a foundation of sand instead of concrete,” she said.

One reason she included the milestone guide was to counter what she hears too often: that children will “catch up” on their own.

“Just telling a parent, it’s okay if their kids are behind, and giving them that false sense of security is not helping anybody,” she said.

Miller believes one of the most damaging shifts in early childhood has been the push for academic “rigor” at younger ages. She warns that two-year-old readiness programs and worksheet-heavy kindergarten curricula come at a cost.

“Play is one of the most foundational things that a kid can do to help development,” she said.

Her own children experienced this firsthand during the Covid pandemic. She spent hours designing obstacle courses and structured activities until she realized they no longer knew how to initiate their own play. So she sent them outside with one rule: they had to stay out for an hour.

“The first day they sat there… and did nothing,” she said. "By day three, they ran out the door and rediscovered their creativity."

Another major theme of the book is technology — particularly smartphones. “It was a huge struggle for us,” she said of her own family’s decision-making. Ultimately, her children do not have phones or social media.

Miller cites Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation in her own writing. One line, she said, captures the dilemma perfectly: adults assume children are safest sitting on the couch with devices and that the outside world is dangerous — “but then we see the outside world is incredibly dangerous when it’s actually the other way around.”

Miller lives in Babylon Village with her three sons — Jackson, 13; Zachary, 11; and Cameron, 9. Her two older children are homeschooled, a decision that began when her eldest approached her and said, “I think that school is getting in the way of my learning.”

He explained that he had passions he wanted to explore, but was too exhausted after school to pursue them. He wasn’t struggling academically — quite the opposite — but felt unfulfilled. Their youngest chose to remain in the Babylon schools and is thriving.

“It really is just a matter of listening to our kids and paying attention to what’s best for each of them,” she said.

The phrase Kid MAGIC comes from the language Miller and her husband have used since their sons were born. “We told them they were born with Kid magic,” she said — a unique superpower each child must identify and grow.

Miller’s book hit No. 1 in three Amazon categories, including Education & Teaching, on launch day. Her upcoming Babylon Bean event is designed to feel warm and personal. “We’re gonna do coffee. I’ll be signing books, for sure… coffee and conversation and lots of book talk,” she said.

But beyond the event, Miller sees Kid MAGIC as a call to reimagine childhood — not through sweeping policy shifts, but through small, consistent choices adults can make right now.

“We don’t have to sit here and wait for a change,” she said. “There are things that we can do right now that can improve education. There are things that we can do right now that can help our kids.”