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Welcome to the My First Five Years Blog. Here you will find all sorts of information, ideas and activities that will help you to support your child.

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  • Cognitive,
  • C35.2,
  • Child

Early reminiscing with your child may help them share feelings in the future

6 min read Read Now
  • C8.2_potty learning

Can it really be time to think about a potty? Yes, and it's not as scary as it sounds!

5 min read Read Now
  • FM7.2_potty

Big news in the world of potty training! And you might want to read about it sooner rather than later...

3 min read Read Now
  • GM17.5_potty training

Time for potty training? Here's the latest advice on how to manage it

7 min read Read Now
  • SEN1.4

The importance of touch for your newborn's emotions

3 min read Read Now
  • FM8.2_EC

Have you heard of Elimination Communication toilet training? Here’s a quick explainer...

3 min read Read Now
  • S-E13.1_potty power

Potty Power! Helping you prepare for potty training

5 min read Read Now
  • C2.1

Hands, mouth and brain – why your baby explores their hands with their mouth

1 min read Read Now

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  • Fine Motor,
  • FM34.3,
  • Child

Adding texture and telling stories – new ways to play with dough

If you love play dough, or even if your children do while you merely tolerate it, you might find yourselves playing with it in the same way each time it comes out. The skills your child is building on as they play with dough, including fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, will be learnt no matter how you play – no need to make it fancy at all – but if you feel you want to change up your routine, here are some ideas for different ways to play with dough. 

Never worry about making your play dough set up overly designed or complicated. You want to make it fun for you and your child, so lean in to the ways you enjoy playing.  

2 min read Read Now
  • Parenting,
  • wellbeing,
  • FM32.3

Finding yourself overwhelmed by life admin? The Fair Play method might be the shake-up your family needs

Have you found yourself frustrated by being the only one to remember appointments, what’s most needed on the shopping list and how your toddler likes their snacks presented? If it sometimes (or always) feels like you’re juggling an impossible to-do list in your head while coordinating your whole family’s daily life you are probably taking on most of the mental load that comes with parenting. But, even when you recognise this in your family dynamic, how do you work towards sharing the stress more equally – and so feeling less distraught when someone suggests you might have forgotten to pick up their favourite cereal, or empty the dishwasher first thing? 

There are always times when the mental load of parenting will fall more heavily on one parent than another, and there are many reasons for this both personal to you and formed by the society we live in. It may be because of the way parental leave is structured, the expectations you feel most deeply as a mother or father or how you and your partner divided roles before children arrived.  

3 min read Read Now
  • Fine Motor,
  • Toddlers,
  • Book review,
  • FM32.2

Fold Me a Poem – a book to inspire some paper folding fun

The fine motor skills, and focus, needed to create origami animals is a way off for your toddler but they will be discovering the fun of folding paper (often not very well). Inspire them, and yourself, with this book of simple, sometimes silly, poems from Kristine O'Connell George, along with Lauren Stringer's illustrations which bring the little boy and his origami animals to life.  

This book of poems is perfect to share with your toddler, as each poem about one of the boy’s origami animals is short and sweet. The gentle illustrations add context, and sometimes comedy, to the poem on each page – you'll see a camel missing a leg using the salt shaker to stand, a buffalo kicking the tablecloth, and even big cats having a race.  

1 min read Read Now
  • Fine Motor,
  • FM32.1

When you think fine motor skills, don’t forget the feet!

Since your toddler was very little, you will probably have been aware of (perhaps even a bit obsessed by) how their fine motor skills are developing. Reaching, grasping and moving their fingers are so important for all kinds of life skills – and achievements that are often celebrated for your baby as they grow. But it’s easy to forget that fine motor skills involve all the small muscle groups in your child’s body – and that includes their eyes, mouth and even their toes!  

Feet, and particularly toes, are important for maintaining balance[1] and being able to move easily, and these muscles are often adjusting to new shoes, surfaces or speeds to make sure balance and posture can be maintained as we walk.  

3 min read Read Now

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