Today Tile Triggered Content

Communication is more than words – in our daily lives we use gestures, facial expressions and even objects in our conversations with others.  

The things we use to help communicate with young children are also known as ‘objects of reference’. When babies and young children are first interacting with the world around them, following conversations and concepts can be difficult, so using objects can help your baby make links between things and actions. 

Spot has been a beloved character of children’s books for 40 years; we expect there are many My First Five Years parents who were read one of his adventures as a child!  

Where’s Spot is a classic lift-the-flap book for young children, and its interactive nature makes it perfect for developing fine motor skills. 

You might have noticed that your baby is showing an interest in posting objects – possibly ending up with your phone in a cereal box or your keys going through the letterbox! Shape sorters and other posting-type toys provide loads of entertainment, plus they're brilliant for your baby's development. 

Babies learn a lot from the process of posting one object into another. They will most likely find opportunities to do this when they are ready, so having some toys or safe posting spaces made ready can help to avoid the stress of searching every container you own to find your keys or bank card.  

Sand is a wonderful, and relatively cheap, way for your baby to play using all their senses. But it is also itchy, easily spread around and almost impossible to fully sweep up, no matter how many times you try. For some parents this is fine, for others this sounds like a nightmare come to life.   

If bringing sand into your house isn’t your cup of tea, don’t worry that your baby will miss out.

Playing in a sandpit holds fond childhood memories for many of us. Now your baby is slightly less likely to put everything they meet into their mouth, you might be considering introducing them to sand play at home. Here’s our advice for doing it without turning your house into a building site!  

 Sand play can be brilliant for your baby – and for you 

Being able to follow instructions is a basic life skill, and one that will help your toddler in countless ways throughout their life, in all sorts of places. 

Here are ways you can support your toddler with following instructions: 

You might have come across the term ‘open-ended’ resources. It’s a phrase widely used in early years settings and on some social media sites. Now your baby is getting older, you’re likely to start hearing it more. 

‘Open-ended’ resources is a broad term for toys or objects that can be played with in a variety of ways.  

What can open-ended resources be? 

Sometimes our toddlers do something that maybe they shouldn’t – but is really funny or cute. And our reaction to these moments can lead to behaviour we would prefer wasn’t being repeated over and over again!  

One of the really difficult things our toddlers are learning is that what can be ok and even encouraged in one situation, might be something they can’t do at another time or place.  

Do you find it almost impossible to have your turn when playing with your toddler? Don’t worry, you aren’t alone! Learning to take turns and share is not easy and uses social, emotional and cognitive skills your toddler hasn’t mastered just yet. 

Things to think about that might help... 

Your toddler might be starting to occasionally lift one leg when they are supported by either another person, or some furniture. Let's look at some of the skills your budding flamingo will learn as a result of practising this tricky new skill. 

A new sense of balance