Centuries ago children were not given toys to play with. The best they could hope for was whatever they found lying around on the floor. Toys are a fairly recent introduction and although they massively impact on the development of children, lessons can be learnt from centuries ago and play. Children concentrated for longer as they spent a longer period of time exploring each object. This is one of the most striking observations when a child is engaged in treasure basket play. The level of concentration they exhibit. From birth children learn through experiences and their environment. As soon as babies can sit aided and grasp they can access treasure…
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school holiday ideas :)
My children broke up this holiday only days before Christmas, this meant that we have a long time between the whole Christmas New Year buzz and school going back. This can feel like a bit of a drag after the hype of Christmas, without mentioning the expense involved meaning the last thing you want to do now is go and spend even more on days out. Here are my top ten activities to keep the little ones entertained in the break between new year and new term. 1: Playdough - so easy and so versatile. If you haven't already tried my snow playdough from my previous blog, take a look,…
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Free Family Christmas Ideas
Christmas can be such an expensive time of year. When really it should be about making memories, it seems to be more about the 'stuff' every year and the pressure and expense around this. Plus for children the hype starts so early that it is no wonder children can get a bit Christmassed out! I know mine are so ready for a break and some family time. That's what Christmas is really about family time and making memories so here are five activities I enjoy with my family that are cheap or free to create some lovely family time and memories over the Christmas period. 1: A festive movie -…
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The Stress and Magic of Babies First Christmas.
It is your babies first Christmas, the excitement is at fever pitch. Family and friends cannot wait to spend it with your bundle of joy, and everyone wants to know what to buy. Arrgh…..what do you buy a baby? They have everything! Plus they often don’t really care if they get presents or not as they are more than happy with the boxes and wrapping paper. Therefore what happens when you say “oh anything” or “they don’t need anything”, you get a house full of plastic noise making gifts! So beware. That said babies first Christmas is an amazing magical time, you will get the best photos…
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Why do I take a holistic approach to parenting?
That's easy, I have many professional qualifications that enable me to practise traditional parent coaching methods however I have three children all of which have had their personal struggles and I wanted to take a new approach. I wanted to look at new ways of working especially when it came to some more complex sleep and neurological issues I was faced with in my personal life. I know life as a parent isn't always as easy as it looks, and most of the issues we face are not that easy to see, however they are very real and bring very real problems. I found that taking a more natural…
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Using Parent Coaches is finally becoming more of the norm but why?
Using Parent Coaches is finally becoming more of the norm. Why? It’s easy. If you wanted to improve your fitness, you would hire a personal trainer. If you wanted to learn new recipes you would join a class or buy a book. If you needed help with your animal's behaviour, you would hire an animal behaviourist. So why if you are having issues at home would you ‘just muddle through’ or ‘expect it will pass’. Our children are the most precious thing to us, so why not make your time with them the best it can be, after all we have them with us for such a short…
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But Why Wouldn’t Children Play Outdoors?
But why wouldn't children play Outdoors? This was asked to me in a workshop recently. The answer, there are so many reasons for the decline outdoor play. The reasons range from the weather, not wanting to get wet or dirty, to work and lifestyle commitments and choice, use of iPads and computers increasing, more clubs and activities that children attend, a declining freedom and desire for outdoor play in our current society, the list just goes on. That's why I believe being outdoors, engaging in risky play and experiencing choice and freedom is so important within a childcare setting. A recent study stated that many children and are spending less…
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All grown up!
Today marks my last day with the children at home this summer! I love the summer holidays with them at home but they are so ready to go back now after such a long time off. I however am not ready for it, this year marks something different for me, I feel like my babies are no longer babies anymore, for the first time I have no children in infant school. My eldest is going into his final GCSE year, my middle child starts high school and my youngest starts juniors, and I am not ready for this! This for me has been the biggest jump as a parent since…
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Natural Remedies, Yes or No?
How many of you have considered using a natural therapy or natural medication? I have been surprised by the number of people I have spoken with recently who have or who would love to find out more about natural alternatives, this got me thinking. A while ago I did some training in using homeopathy and herbalism, which has always been of interest to me. However in my house we have a divide, I would much rather take an alternative route, where as my husband is polar opposite. Our children have somehow managed to be somewhere in the middle and have their own opinions depending on what they are trying to…
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Tantrums or Reactions?
Tantrums, paddies, fit, bad mood, kick off, fuss, carry on……………………………...no matter what the terminology you use everyone has an opinion. Are they really tantrums of misplaced feelings? When an adult becomes over emotional, we don’t say they are having a tantrum, we state what they are feeling and why, so why don’t we do this with children? Is it because we believe children don’t understand their feelings, is it because we don’t feel there is always a reason behind it or is it because we don’t value and child’s reaction as much as an adults, after all it is ‘ only a tantrum’ isn’t it? How did you react last…