child development – Page 3

Gender Stereotyping – What Is It and How to Avoid It

The topic of gender stereotyping with regards to children has been gaining a lot of traction in the news and online. You’ve probably already seen at least one article, video or news feature on this topic.

But what is it?

Gender stereotyping is associating certain expectations or ideals depending upon someone’s gender. In relation to children, this could be that typically, girls should like the colour pink and should play with dolls and kitchen sets, whereas boys should like the colour blue and should be more physical in their play, making mess or playing with action figures and video games.

Continue reading “Gender Stereotyping – What Is It and How to Avoid It”

When and how to potty train

Summer is a great time for potty training, and if school is approaching in the autumn and your soon-to-be Reception child is still clinging stubbornly to nappies it’s the last real chance before September.

There are 3 things to consider before you start – age and readiness, timing, and method.

Continue reading “When and how to potty train”

Taking risks

Risks, in general, are seen as a bad thing. Parents and child carers are told to minimise risks, to make things safer, to always be careful and pay attention, ready to swoop in the moment there’s danger. But what if this is a bad thing? Are we going to far?

Of course we don’t mean giving children uncooked chicken to eat, or letting them practice their new found cycling ability next to the river, we mean sensible risks. Perhaps instead of removing all the hazards teaching children to respect dangers and deal with them safely would help them lean. instead of hovering and catching children before they hit the ground allowing them to fall from a safe height and feel the effect of letting go and the point where they went too far.

Continue reading “Taking risks”

Sleep Difficulties with Children – How a Nanny Can Help

Having a young child who won’t or can’t sleep can have a knock-on effect for the entire family.

Sleep problems for babies and young children are becoming more commonplace and routines can be extremely difficult to stick to, especially when you’re not around your child 24/7. That’s where a nanny can step in and help to keep the routine running smoothly so that everyone in the family stays fully rested.

Continue reading “Sleep Difficulties with Children – How a Nanny Can Help”

Explaining Terrorism to Children

As parents and caregivers, it can be extremely difficult to answer questions from children about terrorism. It’s a heart-breaking subject that you might wish you could push away or not discuss, but it’s quickly becoming a necessity due to the world that we live in.

The act of terrorism and the horror it brings is hard for even most adults to come to terms with and understand, which is why, following the terrible events occurring all over the world, we’ve put together some advice to help explain terrorism to your children.

Continue reading “Explaining Terrorism to Children”

Can starting a blog be good for children?

It might seem like a strange question, especially with all the warnings about children and screen time that are constantly in the news, but can blogging actually be beneficial for children?

According to online safety charity WiredSafety, in 2017, there were over 6 million children around the world, regularly writing blogs and whilst there are a number of dangers revolving around children and the internet, there are also a number of benefits to blogging.

Continue reading “Can starting a blog be good for children?”

New Year Resolutions for Parents and Childcare Professionals

How many New Year’s resolutions have you seen or heard from your family, friends and co-workers so far? How many of those were about weight, smoking, drinking, or travel? How many of those were about parenting or childcare? I’m guessing the latter was a significantly smaller number than the former.

This New Year, wouldn’t it be nice for us to make a New Year’s resolution that will not only benefit ourselves but our children and the rest of our family? That’s why we’ve put together a list of areas that we can all try to improve upon in the New Year when it comes to caring for our children.

Continue reading “New Year Resolutions for Parents and Childcare Professionals”

Helping Children Deal with Bereavement and Loss

Bereavement can occur without warning at any time of our lives and it’s important to understand how as a nanny, you can help the children in your care deal with the losses that they may face.

Loss can be exceptionally difficult for children to understand as they are not always able to process the emotions and thoughts that follow, which is why it’s important that children have a strong support network at times of great upset.

Bereavement can be the death of a loved one, a friend or a pet, it could also be the loss of someone close to them, which can often be a result of divorce or separation of a child’s parents.

To help you further help the children in your care deal with the losses they face, we’ve put together the following advice:

Continue reading “Helping Children Deal with Bereavement and Loss”

How to Keep Kids Active in Winter

As temperatures plummet it understandable to want to retreat to the house where it’s warmer, but the bad weather shouldn’t be an excuse for children to swap playing outside for lounging in front of the TV.

That’s why we’ve put together some simple ideas to help keep your children active this winter:

Continue reading “How to Keep Kids Active in Winter”

5 Quiet Alternatives to Screen-Time

“Screen time is bad for your children!” It seems as though that’s all we’re hearing in the news lately. Whilst research is still being conducted into the full effects of screen-time on young children, here are 5 alternatives for when you and your child need a little quiet time instead of turning to the TV, tablet or games console.

Continue reading “5 Quiet Alternatives to Screen-Time”