Early reminiscing with your child may help them share feelings in the future
Your child might be starting to talk more about the things that they remember and be making connections between different experiences. This is something we do all the time as adults, but did you know your approach to talking about and remembering events – what we call reminiscing – will help your child to build their own memories and social understanding?
Talking to your child is second nature, from chatting about your plans for the day to explaining an exciting new thing they’ve spotted and answering those endless questions about the world.
Did you know that adults change their actions when they interact with babies?
You might have heard of ‘infant-directed speech’, which is the simpler speech that adults use when talking to babies. But scientists also suggest that adults simplify their actions when they interact with babies.
The benefits of curiosity: how answering your child's endless questions will unlock their potential
It can be easy to feel overwhelmed by questions from your child, even though you know they must be making themselves ask for a reason. Understanding why questions are so brilliant for learning, and how best to answer them, can help make the stream of whats, whys and wheres feel a little more manageable.
As they discover more of the world around them, children become increasingly able to analyse and categorise the things they see and retain this information in their brain as learnt experiences.
Just a scribble? Why your toddler’s early marks are important and three ways to encourage them
Your toddler might be eager to draw, or be more interested in making lines and circles with their finger or a stick in soap, food or mud. When you’re given a piece of paper with their various colourful lines and squiggles you might find it hard to be enthusiastic – but these early marks are an important step towards writing and drawing.
Why are first marks important?
Making links - sharing books and learning about the world
Books are wonderful for exploring the world and everything within it. Most will feature something relatable for your toddler, whether it be the grass, sun or an animal.
Others will offer new and unfamiliar things – the chance to discover foods, places, people, types of transport and emotions.
Touching, thinking, looking and learning – how your baby learns about objects
Your baby is showing more interest in objects; they might look at things for longer now, as they are starting to develop the skills to learn about objects by looking at them as well as by touching them.
Do you remember? Reminiscing and supporting your toddler’s memory development
As your toddler’s language develops, they might begin to talk about things that they remember. They might recall recent events or occasions from a little while ago – listening to your toddler’s memory of things can give a wonderful insight into what’s important to them.
Memory – more of a story than a photo album!
Again, again – the importance of repetition
Do you sometimes wonder why your toddler wants to do the same puzzle or build the exact same tower again and again? You might feel you should be moving your toddler on or helping them find a new challenge. But giving them time to repeat favourite activities is a great support for their learning.
‘Hello, who is it?’ The amazing learning opportunities in pretend play
As American comedian Dave Chappelle says, “No matter how old you are, if a little kid hands you a toy phone... you answer it.”
Now, you might need to work out it’s a phone first, as your toddler is starting to understand that we can pretend an object is something else! But why is this such an amazing step in your toddler’s development?
When your toddler pretends their wooden block is a phone, they’re showing that they can manipulate information and that this pretending can be shared.
A different side to your baby's memory
Have you noticed that your baby remembers how to do things? This is one aspect of their ever-increasing memory skills.
Defining memory
