12th May
When you found out you were pregnant, one of the first things you probably did was get hold of a book or magazine that told you everything that was happening to your baby, week by week.
Once the baby was born, it was a different book, telling you when your baby should start to smile, roll over, eat solid foods. As they grew, your health visitor plotted their growth on a chart and asked you if they could pass little blocks between their hands and how many words they can say now.
Each stage is exciting but can also feel like a test of you and your baby’s abilities and achievements. Then before you know it, they are at school and you are faced with reading levels and spelling tests.
At each childhood development stages, you try your best to make sure that your child is progressing as you feel they should, but the difficulty is that, if you assume your child will do everything by the book, you might be surprised and even worried if and when they don’t.
It can even be tempting to compare your child with others: your child is on reading level 2 while their neighbour is on level 3, but your child is swimming 50 metres while others in their class are only swimming ten.
19th Apr
Looking for toys with a difference? If so, P’kolino is definitely a brand to check out – the American-based toy company recently made its UK debut at the London Toy Fair, on the shelves of exclusive UK distributor Gander Kids.
The P’kolino range features a variety of retro-inspired wooden toys (rattles, tops, stackers and nesting birds), as well as award winning wooden puzzles and eco-friendly Arts and Crafts.
The Arts and Crafts range includes crayons and pencils which are coloured with food dye and angular-shaped so they won’t roll away; a stylish wall mounted Safari elephant easel, which releases the valuable floor space taken up by traditional easels; and Silly Soft modular toddler seating that’s part furniture, part toy.
Written by: Andrea Zanin
17th Apr
As ‘retro’ becomes trendier and trendier, The Slow Toy Movement simultaneously lays claim to the consumer’s consciousness.
‘Retro’ means culturally outdated… and that’s exactly what ‘slow toys’ are; toys that were fashionable or trendy long ago, and are now considered outdated. What is a Slow toy? Slow toys are:
* ethically sourced
* fun to play with
* without batteries
* sold in independent toy shops
* durable
* without thousands of different functions
These types of toys are back in vogue – think… rocking horse, educational abacus, classic wooden toy, much loved train set or traditional Jack-in-a-box. The kinds of toys my mum used to play with.
I am reminded of an old wooden cot that my granddad made for my mum; I then inherited the toy (which I loved) and my two-year-old, when visiting granny, took great pleasure in discovering the little white cot. Pretty cool, I think.
Written by: Andrea Zanin
4th Apr
Tummy time – my baby girl hated it! It would start off okay… and then she would squeal with displeasure; arms flapping up and down and face planted into the floor. I guess you have to ease them into it.
If your babs is not a fan of lying belly flat on the floor, or you aren’t keen on placing your little one on the floor, there is an off-the-floor-tummy-time activity centre that places your baby at an angle. It comes complete with a soft fleece mat and safety harness and it all cleverly folds away completely flat for easy storage and travel.
The Tummy Time Activity Centre multifunctions as a seat and a recliner as well as a tummy time platform. It has high sides, a solid back and a safety harness – baby’s safety is paramount.
Letting babies spend time on their tummies is important for their development; assisting with co-ordination, balance, and posture, it increases confidence and helps strengthen back, neck and arm muscles.
Written by: Andrea Zanin
26th Mar
Toddlers can be picky eaters – before they have even tried something their noses are already turned up.
My daughter had (and occasionally still has) an aversion to anything green. The first time I fed her a green vegetable, I was sure that the colour had offended her in some way – she was automatically suspicious.
Whether it was peas, broccoli or spinach, the same look of horror would appear on her toddler face when green veg was placed in front of her.
I am pretty persistent, and with an uncompromising attitude (and a little bit of skilful ‘hide the greens behind the butternut or in the stew’) my two-year-old now embraces her green veg as part of the meal.
Interesting new research, released by Ella’s Kitchen in conjunction with Reading University, suggests that little ones who play with their food using all their senses are more likely to eat their greens!
So, if the greens look, smell and taste delicious… feel interesting (yes, it is okay to let your child play with his food – with limitations specified by you) then maybe your little one is more inclined to an attitude of curiosity, as opposed to one of apprehension. Maybe a good way to get toddlers to eat greens.
Written by: Andrea Zanin
Written by: Claire Smart