Blog

At My First Five Years, we have talked about how we talk about children’s behaviour, especially about tantrums and the words we use to describe these behaviours. Sometimes the word tantrum leads to a series of thoughts that leads to quite a negative view of this aspect of development. Although we all agree that our children’s tantrums can be difficult for us as parents, we think that this period of development is positive and shows us some really important steps in our children’s development. In this blog, I will look in more detail at what is happening for your child when they have a tantrum, and how you can support them during this step in their development.  

Newborn babies just seem to cry, eat and sleep don’t they? We know children learn a lot during the first five years of their life, and we are here to help you enjoy, support and follow your child’s individual journey. But does your newborn know more than they can show you? In this blog, we will briefly explore some of what researchers think newborn babies know and what this tells us about how they learn.

Touch

For many of us what we want after, or before, a hard day is a hug. Touch helps us to build relationships and to regulate our emotions. Your newborn baby has been aware of touch since around the 8th week of your pregnancy and will have felt their hands touching their face and mouth before they were born. Touch is one of the first ways in which your child learns about themselves and about the world. They use their mouth and then, as their physical skills develop, their hands, feet and body to explore and learn. In this blog, we are going to look at the role of touch in helping your newborn baby regulate their emotions and learn about the world. 

When you pick up a new baby or pass them to someone for their first cuddle, you often hear comments about making sure that you support their head! Your baby does not have the strength to control their head when they are born. But the ability to control their bodies starts at their head and moves to their toes so you will notice them holding their head steady and moving it to look at things quite quickly. In this blog, we will look at how your baby develops control of their head and the part that primitive reflexes play in your baby’s early head movements.  

Going outside with your baby or child gives them the chance to explore the world in a different way, they can move more, notice changes in weather and see, hear and touch things that they won’t find inside. Playing on a hill provides a particular challenge and a unique set of experiences, in this blog we will focus on the opportunities presented for supporting sensory development.

If your toddler holds a toy brick to their ear, speaks for a moment, and then hands it to you, you probably hold the brick to your ear and immediately start a conversation with the person on the other end of the ‘phone’. I have lost count of how many imaginary cups of tea I have drunk or pretend cakes I have eaten over the years!  We expect our children to pretend and expect to be brought into their play, pretend play is amazing and supports children’s development in many ways. In this blog, I am going to focus on the role of pretend and fantasy play in supporting cognitive development.  

Sleep takes up a lot of your baby’s time and might feature prominently in your thoughts, as well meaning friends and family offer advice about your sleep and about your baby’s sleep. In this blog, we will explore some of what is known about your newborn baby’s sleep.

At My First Five Years, we know that babies, toddlers and children learn through play, but what does learning through play look like for your baby? In this blog, we will explore play and young babies, thinking about how you can play with your baby and how this play supports their development. 

When they are born and during the first few weeks crying is an important way for your baby to communicate their needs. They will, in the next few weeks, start to smile, look and move as a means of communicating but crying will remain an important part of their communication. In this blog, we will look at what is known about crying and young babies and some of the things that might soothe your newborn baby.

A moment that many of us remember is the moment our newborn baby gripped our finger for the first time. Your baby curling their fingers round your finger is one of several primitive reflexes, these develop in the womb and are present for weeks or months after birth until your baby develops the strength and control to make voluntary movements. In this blog, we explore three reflexes that could be described as grasp reflexes and consider how these link to your baby’s development.