Today Tile Triggered Content

These take a little bit of patience but are totally worth it! They're great for freezing, so you can enjoy them for weeks to come. 

Bedtime can be the most magical of times to read a story (and be read to). The sound of your voice, your presence, your smell and your touch are without doubt some of the best things in the world to your toddler. Let’s have a look at how you can make the most of spending this precious time together... 

Set the scene 

There may be times when your toddler comes across a challenge during their day, or something might puzzle them. Your instinct might be to rush right over and help them find a solution. But to help raise a resilient toddler, who’s able to think and make decisions, sometimes a pause is what the situation needs. 

When we problem-solve we seek solutions  

Have you noticed you have a ‘mini me’ next to you sometimes? Your toddler copying little movements and actions made by you or other family members is incredibly cute and often very funny. Being able to imitate the actions of others is a fascinating stage of development for so many reasons... 

Your toddler is now bringing together cognitive, physical, social and emotional skills when copying the movements of others. 

Your baby is becoming a toddler before your eyes. Parenting at this stage can be hard for many reasons, not least the ups and downs that come with this transition to being an independent toddler – and that’s an emotional rollercoaster! It’s important to ask for help when you need it, and recent research has highlighted that other people actually like to be asked when you need some support.  

Social psychologist Xuan Zhao, and her colleagues at Stanford University, created and ran some experiments to find out what impact asking someone for help has on the people involved in their research paper, which they called ‘Surprisingly Happy to Have Helped’.^[1]  

Your toddler is becoming steadier on their feet, and with this skill comes the ability to walk while doing something else. As adults we do this all the time: walking while talking, carrying shopping and looking out for traffic is second nature, but our toddlers are learning to manage by adding new elements, little by little. This is a perfect opportunity to ask them for help carrying the load as part of your day-to-day jobs.  

At the moment, your toddler is learning to walk while carrying an object without losing their balance. 

We do it often and without thinking, but for your toddler, changing direction while walking is a really tricky skill to master. It involves not only the physical actions of moving their legs and body in the right direction, but also a whole lot of sensory messages as their body moves in this new way.  

Your toddler’s body needs to learn which muscles to move differently when they take a step backwards, compared to the more familiar forwards motion. This requires plenty of practice and often very slow movements at first, but it does come naturally to most children as they become confident walkers.^[1]  

Your baby's independence is growing, and they are keen to get jobs done all by themselves. This can be a joyous time for you to step back and see how they engage with the world around them. Read how you can support them during this exciting stage... 

Plan for allowing more time 

Many children love water play because it stimulates their senses – especially touch, sight and sound –and it's a brilliant way to experience how their actions change outcomes (cause and effect); all in all, safe water exploration is a fantastic plaything! 

Some people believe that a baby and toddler who listens to classical music will become more intelligent. However, this has been found to be FALSE.