Today Tile Triggered Content

Watching your toddler play with a simple puzzle can be its own form of torture – especially if it’s taking them what feels like hours to fit a small cut out of a cat into a clearly very cat-shaped hole on the board! But, although our instinct is so often to help them ‘finish’, this might not be what your toddler needs. There are many, many skills being practised which might be more important to your toddler than finishing the puzzle.  

Your toddler is exploring the puzzle piece, and board, every time they play with it. Their fine motor skills, which allow them to move and control the tiny muscles in their fingers, are now more sophisticated and your toddler can move the puzzle piece, turn it and flip it over. They might spend a long time doing this, and perhaps trying and failing to fit it into its space.  

Your toddler is becoming more able to control their fine motor movements, and is now linking their movements to the marks they make. They will still need some help to recall what they are drawing, so might enjoy watching you draw then copying you. These three sweet books about line and shape will inspire lots of imagination next time you draw together.  

When we think about our toddler becoming a confident walker, our focus is probably on their muscles getting stronger or their movements being more coordinated. Some scientists suggest that we shouldn’t think about the development of movement without thinking about the world around your toddler.  

The development of movement depends on environment – and your toddler learns more about the environment when they can move (this is known as the development systems view). 

If you’ve ever googled brain development you might have come across articles that refer to the triune model of the brain, or that describe us as having a lizard brain which takes over when we feel scared or threatened. As neuroscientists learn more about our brains, this way of understanding the brain has been questioned – read on to find out more.  

We don’t have a lizard brain 

Although your toddler doesn't need to ponder their future profession just yet, they're coming to understand that familiar adults carry out daily activities, like cooking, or feeding a pet; and they have an ever-growing ability and desire to help with them. 

Many studies have found that toddlers are typically eager to help others achieve their goals and are motivated to do so.^[3,4,5]  

The Children’s Society publish The Good Childhood report each year. In the 2022 report, they found that children’s happiness with ‘life as a whole’ was significantly lower than 10 years earlier.^[1]  We know that early experiences lay the foundations for future wellbeing and positive mental health – so what can you do to support your toddler now (and in the future)?  

We know lots about how important early experiences are for future learning – but sometimes the connections between both physical and mental health and our early experiences can seem to be forgotten.  

We can see it now: your toddler is in the park... there’s a bridge to climb, stepping stones to travel over and a tunnel to crawl through. What to do first?! Having opportunities to clamber, climb and crawl is great for your toddler’s overall development. 

1) When your toddler navigates their way around obstacles, their gross and fine motor skills develop 

When is the right time to move to a new bed? The only people that know that answer is the family involved. There is no right or wrong age for a child to move into a big bed – it all depends on when you think your child is ready, or when you feel it is necessary. 

The first night in a big bed is a huge step for you all. Your toddler is growing up quickly and outgrowing things by the day. So, if you're about to transition from a cot to a bed, here are some pointers to guide you. 

Speech usually comes to mind when we think of rhythm and intonation. When we talk to babies and young children, we use sing-song voices to emphasise words and make everything said seem like the most fascinating thing ever heard. But, did you know we use just as much intonation when we say numbers? 

Think about using numbers with your toddler; do you elongate the sounds, ooooonnnnnnne, twwwwooooooooo, threeeeeeeeeeee?  

We know that some days feel harder than others and pressures can come from almost anywhere. If you are having one of those days, take a breath and absorb yourself in your toddler. 

Take some time to unwind by creating a moment for you both to connect