Today Tile Triggered Content

Do you start the day with a cup of tea in your favourite mug? Need five minutes scrolling before you can relax in the evening (however tired you are)? These are things that you might not think about – until the day you can’t fit them in. Your small daily rituals are important for your wellbeing, so should still be a part of your life, without feeling like another pressure.  

Simple daily rituals can reduce your stress levels

Being able to turn their wrist while holding an object is a fascinating skill, and one that will eventually enable your toddler to get so many essential tasks done in life. Let's look at what they might use that twist of the wrist for... 

1) Opening doors and drawers that have knobs 

Although your toddler may be too young to really understand the idea of presents, they might have a new-found interest in paper – particularly in unwrapping it! Paper play promotes lots of lovely fine motor movements, as well as a whole host of other skills.  

Physical – exercising fine motor muscles 

Is this your toddler? Do you find that shoes come off when driving, while walking and as soon as they are put on? Although it may feel frustrating at times, this is one way of your toddler promoting their own learning and encouraging greater independence. We have some tips here for helping all the shoe removing toddlers out there!

Lots of learning is taking place

Do you feel like you hear, “MINE,” a million times a day? That could be an exaggeration but, “mine”, like “no”, can seem a powerful word to a toddler and might be one they use a lot as they seek to become more independent. This isn’t always easy, especially if your toddler lays claim to something that clearly isn’t theirs! But, did you know awareness of ownership might help your toddler learn new words?  

Learning new words is a complex process; your toddler will hear lots of words – but they won’t remember all of them.  

First words are magical. As your toddler learns to say more, they can share more of their thoughts and ideas with you. It can be tempting to look for ways to accelerate this amazing progress and you might be tempted by flashcards, word books or sitting them down and getting them to repeat what you say. STOP – you don’t need to do that – here are some things to think about instead.  

Your toddler is most likely to learn new words with people they love, in situations that are important and interesting to them.^[1]  

Using words to share their interests with you is a big step for your toddler – and might make it a bit easier for you to know what they want to show you! So, as well as reducing the guesswork for you, why is using words to share their interests important?  

Learning to talk involves not only understanding words and knowing how to say them, but also understanding the different reasons for talking. The same applies if your toddler is learning to communicate using signs.  

Researchers have found that in Western societies parents ask their children more questions as they get older.^[1] We've taken a look at how different types of questions offer an extra challenge to your toddler.  

A lot of research has been carried out in recent years into how hands move, and this is all thanks to the development of robotics! It shows there is much more to the human grasp than just the movement of hands.  

Different grasps for different tasks 

Research shows that social interactions with family members is a prime time for your toddler to pick up new skills, like using a spoon independently. 

Social interactions at mealtimes