Imaginative or pretend play stimulates the senses, creates opportunities for exploration and creative thinking, and helps your child to develop key skills vital for intellectual and emotional growth as well as social success. When Do Children Start Pretend Play? Newborn – 2 Years The first signs of pretend play emerge around 12 to 18 months.…
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Everyone has the cognitive capacity to learn and it is the information and structures present in the environment that create the conditions for learning. Count – count everything as you go along, the steps you walk up, how many people are in front of you at the check-out, the numbers on the elevator buttons. Notice…
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When asked “what do you want most for your kids in life?” most parents answer “to be happy”. While much of what has influenced kids’ mental health and happiness in recent years is outside the realm of influence, their long-term happiness is something you can cultivate by implementing and teaching happiness habits and practices. Following…
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Almost exactly two years ago our world changed in incomprehensible ways. It was supposed to be a couple of weeks. A month at most. We just had to isolate at home. Flatten the curve. Protect the vulnerable. It meant working from home unless we were essential workers. It also meant school was at home. But…
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The start of the new school year brings a variety of challenges – from teacher and class changes, through to the transition from holiday mode back into the routine of school. This can make settling back into school difficult for some children and young people, especially after the extended summer break. Naturally, as a parent…
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It is widely accepted and acknowledged that children grow and change so rapidly in the first few years. This period in a person’s life is significant for many reasons and here are some of them. The human brain develops more quickly in the first 1000 days than any other time during life. Nutrition intake in…
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I recently found myself in the unusual position of needing to speak to my son’s teacher about a concern regarding an incident that occurred in the classroom. My first reaction was to fire off an email to share my concern and this would have arrived in her inbox at about midnight after spending hours coming…
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Red Nose has been a part of Australian culture for over 40 years! We see fundraisers each year, cars with the big read circle and people sporting the attractive foam red nose. But what are they actually for? Red Nose Australia all began in Victoria in 1977 by Kaarene Fitzgerald following the death of Glenn…
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It is a hot topic at the moment…. the interview with Oprah, Prince William and Meghan Markle. Before most people had even seen the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s interview it had been scrutinised and critiqued all over the world – and as is typically the case for this couple and many in the media,…
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Every child’s a winner, right? My initial answer is, yes, of course they are. But in life, is that realistic? What if I added that there was always going to be someone better than you, faster than you, more dedicated than you, smarter than you? How would you manage that? How would you feel having experienced a…
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