Beating the loneliness of parenting
Sometimes, parenting can be a lonely experience. There are often feelings of pressure, and many parents struggle to have time to focus on anything other than being a mum or dad – it’s a time-consuming job!
Identifying times when you may feel lonely
What is ‘recasting’ in speech development?
Recasting is a great tool for you to use when supporting your toddler’s speech development – you’re probably already doing it without even knowing.
Recasting is when you are talking with your child, and you repeat back their phrase with corrections and/or added details. For example, if they said to you, “ar”, recasting this would be “yes, that’s a big car!”.
“Again, again!” – why repeating stories is great for your baby
Do you have a shelf or basket of beautiful books at home, only for your toddler to keep picking out the same one over and over? You might feel like you should hide it for a while, but going back to a favourite read is actually a good thing.
Repetition can be comforting
What a page turner! Your baby is showing you some incredible skills
Books are fantastic. We love reading, and we know your baby will too. Books offer moments of peace, joy or comfort, in addition to a wide range of sizes, rhymes, themes and ways to get involved. All this before we even think about the remarkable skills your baby needs to turn a page.
My turn, my turn
It’s not just a scribble – it’s a new chapter in your baby’s life
Just a scribble? Nothing could be further from the truth. We LOVE the development of writing. What could be more fascinating than watching your baby prepare to practically write their own history and contribute to the creation of a piece of their identity?
Identity building
Your future writer or sports player – why their rotating arm is so vital!
Turning the forearm is more incredible than you might initially give credit to. Up until now, your baby has tended to reach, grasp and play with their forearm facing the floor. But consider all the activities you do that call for the rotation of your forearm: holding a pen to write and hitting a ball with a bat are just two examples.
A world of practical tasks and activities is opening up
When you are feeling overwhelmed, try this
Life with a toddler can be busy, and there will be days when it seems you haven’t had a moment to pause. Finding ways to give yourself this time is important for you and your toddler – you can show them how to stay calm and grounded by doing this yourself. Try out this simple grounding technique.
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Five ways to encourage your toddler to brush their teeth
If your toddler is a little reluctant to go through the routine of brushing their teeth twice a day, these five ideas should help.
- Practise on teddies and dolls – Experiencing toothbrushing in their play will make them more interested in having a go on their own teeth.
- Let them brush your teeth – Encouraging them to brush your teeth will help them understand the process and show them that it can be fun to do.
- Try with just water before adding toothpaste – Sometimes toothpaste can be a bit much to begin with, along with the strange sensation of having your teeth brushed. So, start with water and build up by adding tiny amounts of toothpaste. It’s recommended that you stick to minty flavoured toddler toothpaste, otherwise when your child moves past children’s toothpaste, they can find the taste of regular toothpaste too overpowering.
- Try it in the bath to make it more fun – Brushing teeth in the bath is a good way to distract them in the process. You can do this with bath toys or light splashes, while you brush their teeth.
- Let them pick out their own toothbrush – They're more likely to engage with the process of teeth brushing if they’re excited about it.
Parental burnout – some ideas to help
Burnout might be a word you associate with the world of work, but increasingly researchers are recognising that parental burnout is a very real thing which needs to be researched more widely. The good news is there are some simple steps you can take to avoid burnout.
Defining parental burnout
Noticing what your baby is listening to – what is auditory attention?
You may have memories from childhood of someone telling you to ‘pay attention,’ but might have never really thought about all the skills needed to do this. Being able to focus attention on a sound, sight, smell or other sensation is an important skill that helps us to learn. As your baby is beginning to show what sounds they are listening to, by turning or looking, it’s useful to know more about auditory attention.
Auditory attention – choosing which sound to focus on
