Hot Topics

The witching hour can start without warning and is often longer than an hour! The calm, quiet baby or toddler you once had turns into a crying inconsolable child in no time at all, usually around the same time every day. So what can you do?

Do you sometimes struggle to get your kids to listen and pay attention to what you’re saying? Do you often feel frustrated or resort to raising your voice? Here are 4 quick ways you can encourage your kids to listen to you and help you restore your sanity!

Children can start lying as young as two years old. We might not like it when our kids lie to us, but believe it or not, lying in the early years is a normal part of your preschoolers development involving independence, emotional regulation and putting things into perspective. Find out more about their reasons for lying, dealing with their lies, setting an example and continued lying.

Many things can cause young kids to become mad and start to scream and shout. However it’s important as parents and caregivers to teach toddlers and preschoolers how to manage their anger so that it doesn’t become self-destructive.

Are you guilty of bribing your kids or over-rewarding them? We take a look at the difference between bribes and rewards, the long term effects of both and instilling positive values.

Does your child often interrupt you? When you’re talking to someone else, on the phone or in the middle of something, it can be frustrating when your child constantly interrupts. Teaching them how to determine if something warrants an interruption and how to pay more attention to other people's needs as well as their own will help control the interruptions.

Much research has been carried out over the years on the importance of exposing young children to music. We look at some of the benefits and give you some suggestions for making music at home.

Young children love to paint and draw, build and sculpt and when they present us with their artworks it’s easy to tell them that they’ve done a great job - whatever the results! However with a few open-ended questions you can find out a little more about what they’ve produced and what inspired them. You’ll also help develop their creative and critical thinking skills in the process.

By adding music to movement young kids gain so many more benefits beyond movement alone, and it is lots of fun! From developing their language, memory and social skills to creative thinking and focused listening, they also start to build music foundations such as singing in tune and moving in time. So what can young kids get out of well-written music and movement experiences?

It’s not often we associate ‘benefits’ with screen time, but when used in moderation there are some benefits to be had for pre-school kids. It’s all about balance! Find out more about the educational, communication, creative and physical benefits of screen time.

Preferring one parent to the other is a normal stage of your kids development. While this can be quite hurtful for the parent who is being excluded, it is helpful to remember that it is usually just a phase which will pass soon enough. Find out what can you do when your kids tend to prefer one parent over the other.

Heuristic play is about playing with real-life, everyday objects and providing kids with an opportunity for open-ended discovery. When children are involved in heuristic play, they are using familiar objects in different ways. It is the process of exploring the different ways to use the objects that is important in the play.

Biting amongst toddlers is not uncommon. In most cases it’s just a phase they go through. We take a look at why toddlers bite and ways to help eliminate their biting altogether.

Find out how physical play and development are linked to reading and writing skills. The brain plays its part in children’s writing and reading but the body needs to be ready physically too. Little hands and eyes need developing ready for successful reading and writing.

Not all babies like their first few sessions of tummy time, but with your encouragement it’s an early developmental milestone they’ll start to enjoy in their own time. However, the sooner you start, the quicker they will adapt. Check out our useful tummy time tips.

Teaching babies the difference between day and night can be a bit of a challenge until their body clock kicks in. However it's something you can easily help them learn from just a few weeks old. Whilst it’s not possible to establish a routine when your baby is very young, there are things you can do to separate day and night activities. In the long run it will also mean you will both start to get more sleep.

There’s evidence that children's imaginary friends are more widespread than ever. Find out why it’s normal, how make believe can affect a child’s development, adjusting to your child’s new friend, when should you be worried and how long will their imaginary friend be around for.

Baby sign language is primarily about bonding and communicating with your little one and comes with many benefits. Babies are born with a natural instinct to communicate and make themselves understood through gesturing, smiling, crying and making sounds. Baby sign language builds on their gesturing so you can begin to understand what they are saying to you. Find out more about some of the benefits.

Are you worried your toddler isn't making friends? It's perfectly normal. Although some toddlers are naturally confident, most are typically slow to make friends to begin with. Here are some simple suggestions to help those early friendships blossom.

Kids will be kids and there will come a stage when they swear or ask awkward questions at inappropriate times, but what can you do to help address it? Check out these useful tips.

The period between 3 to 5 years old is a distinct time of growth and development for kids, a time for learning new skills and building their confidence. By understanding what’s coming up next in terms of their development you’ll be more prepared and the transition will be a little smoother for everyone.

Adventure play or imaginative play comes with many benefits for preschoolers and is all about giving them a wide range of resources and materials to have fun with, experiment with and to help them build their own creations with.

We take a look at the effects of W-Sitting, why it’s not ideal and the postural and developmental issues it may cause young kids.

Are play dates really necessary when kids are young? We take a look at some of the benefits and developmental effects play dates can have on older babies, toddlers and pre-school kids when they catch up with their friends.