Today Tile Triggered Content

The more your child moves, the more they develop not only strength and control of their muscles but also a healthy cardiovascular system. We know physical exercise is also good for our wellbeing, and with concerns that children (and adults) should move more^[1] – we thought: why not look at the benefits of something as simple as jumping!  

We often look at our children’s apparently endless energy and think they must be moving enough, but it is worth thinking about the guidelines for children under five and if your child gets the time and space to be as physically active as possible.  

Now your toddler’s balance is developing, you might be starting to think about a balance bike.

Balance bikes don’t have pedals, so these are simple for your toddler to use, and help them to develop the balance they need to ride a bike.  

See-saws provide quite the thrill to children. The feeling you get from being thrown into the air is like no other and the adventure of making it back to the ground with a thud is quite exhilarating. 

Your child’s cognitive and physical skills are developing, and as part of this they’ll be looking for more physical challenges – which can be a challenge for you, too. Your first instinct might be to warn them about potential dangers and remind them to “be careful!”, after all, a huge part of your role as a parent is to keep your child safe. But one of the best ways you can help keep your child safe throughout their life is to help them learn to recognise situations that might be dangerous, and have a toolkit of ways to protect themselves.  

When we say, “be careful,” we don’t give our child information about which aspect of what they are doing is risky, so they can’t assess and learn from our knowledge and be ready to risk assess themselves next time they are in a similar situation.  

For the first few weeks of your baby's life, crying is an important way for them 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 repertoire! We look at what is known about crying and young babies, and some of the things that might soothe your newborn.

The moment your newborn baby grips your finger for the first time is magical. This action is one of several primitive reflexes which 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. Here, we look at three 'grasp reflexes', and how these link to your baby’s development. 

We all have loads of neurons that constantly send messages around our body and brain. Connected by synapses, the neurons help us do lots of things, like form memories, move, and create feelings. Scientists continue to find out more about the role of neurons and one study has been focusing on their part in processing the sounds we hear. 

Although learning to read is still a way off for your toddler, they are already mastering skills that lay the foundation for reading. Find out how visual skills, like finding a lost toy, will help when it comes to learning to read. 

Developing control over their visual skills is an important part of your toddler's journey to being a confident and fluent reader in the future.  

Your toddler is getting more independent, which can lead to frustration – so what can you do to help them (and yourself) when emotions start to run high?  

When your toddler is frustrated or disappointed, they might shout, scream, kick or hit – they seem angry at first before tears start, as they’re overwhelmed by sadness.[1] Some researchers even think that this sadness turns into panic, as toddlers don’t know how to calm themselves.[2] 

Newborn babies just seem to cry, eat and sleep, don’t they? But does your new arrival know more than they can show you? We've looked at some of what researchers think newborn babies understand and what this tells us about how they learn.