What Happened to You? Written by James Catchpole, illustrated by Karen George
James Catchpole has written this tremendous children’s book about a group of children who meet in the park. The main character, Joe, has one leg. He is busy being a pirate and trying to catch a shark when his play is interrupted by the question “What happened to you?”
This book puts you straight into Joe’s shoe. He was thoroughly enjoying his imaginary play, and he was having a great time. Joe is distracted by the child’s question, and her questions quickly draw the attention of other children. They all start to guess what happened to Joe’s other leg, but Joe would really rather his privacy was respected.
Gen Alpha know: it's cool to be kind!
Every generation is born into a world with significant advances in technology, as well as changes in how they view the world, themselves and other people. The only generation that has never experienced a world without smartphones and social media is Generation Alpha, which encompasses people born between 2010 and 2025. They are thought to be much more aware, as they live in a globally connected world.[1]
One area that has undergone tremendous change through the generations is the discussion of feelings and emotions.
Off to work we go – why getting your child to help at home could be great for their development
Do you have days when you feel like you’ve got to choose between cleaning, cooking and teaching your child something? You might feel like you've forgotten when you last saw the bottom of your washing basket, or be wondering what you should be making for the next meal – the good news is that getting your child involved in helping will teach them lots – and even better they will probably love it!
Helping with tasks in your home is something your child really enjoys at this stage of development. Not just tidying their toys away, but jobs they see as important because you do them. When children carry out age-appropriate tasks alongside you they feel like a connected and valued member of the household.
Happiness - What makes you happy?
Do you find your to do list is always growing? Life with children is busy and there often isn’t time to pause and think about yourself and what makes you happy.
If this resonates with you, don't worry – you aren’t alone.
Empathy begins at home: How you can support your child's development of compassion and understanding
For many of us, the moment we see our child go over to help someone, without a prompt from us, brings a glow of pride. We want our children to be kind to other people, and for everyone to see just how wonderful our child really is – showing this kind of concern for someone else is harder than it looks. And you have an important role to play in helping your child master the skills they need to be truly empathetic.
Social psychologists talk about prosocial behaviour, which are the things we do for someone else – things like helping, sharing, giving gifts and cooperating with one or more people.
What is theory of mind – and how does it help your child make friends?
Theory of mind is the understanding of the thoughts, feelings and ideas of other people. It is a skill that your child has been developing for some time and one that will help them as they make friends. Understanding other people’s ideas, thoughts and emotions is an important part of building relationships, it will help your child agree what to play, think about other people’s needs and show empathy – all important aspects of friendship.
Your child will have learnt about other people by watching those around them and noticing how people respond to experiences and events. They might have noticed what causes some emotions or pretended to be someone else in their play.
Cooperation and becoming competitive in games often develop together
If you’ve tried playing a board game with your child, you’ll know that understanding games with rules can be tricky. Your child might develop these skills through making up their own rules as they play with other children – or suggesting some simple rules in games they play with you.
Playing games with rules involves social and cognitive skills as your child needs to think about (and explain) the rules, remember them as they play and agree the rules with other people. Then they have to understand that in some games there is a winner and a loser – and sometimes they might lose (which is something even adults find hard to cope with at times!).
Cognition and emotion –why they go hand in hand
You've probably noticed similar skills in different streams as you’ve worked your way through the app. Responding to and regulating emotions draws on your child’s social and emotional, sensory and cognitive skills – and probably involves some language development too!
Self-regulation is the ability to recognise and control our responses. Although we often talk about self-regulation in the context of emotions, it might involve controlling thoughts, emotions, attention or actions.
Has your child started to seem a bit less confident? Read our tips for supporting them to develop a positive view of themselves
Who am I? Seems like a simple question at first but as you start to think about it, it’s really quite complicated. Psychologists have different theories about how we understand who we are, and the things that impact how children develop this understanding. All of this is described by psychologists as self-concept, and it is now your child is beginning to use what other people think of them as part of how they understand themselves.
Your child will often focus on describing what they can do – which can be a good reminder to us all to be confident. If you’ve ever seen the ‘Whatever you do today, do it with the confidence of a child wearing a superhero cape’ meme, you’ll know it is likely to sum up your child’s approach!
Your expressions while you eat might influence which foods your child tastes
Say you hate broccoli, but really want your child to eat a wide range of vegetables – you might be telling them how delicious it is, but your face and body language might be saying different. You can't kid a kidder when it comes to liking food! Looking at people around us to understand what we should do is known as 'social referencing', and when it comes to trying food, your child will be watching you closely!'
In a study of both children and adults, people were more likely to try a food they already ‘dislike’ when they were shown an image of a pleasant face alongside that food – and this was particularly true of the youngest children in the study, aged five years old.
