Parent Advice Feed
Attachment Disorders
Previously, we have looked at attachment disorders and how children whose early lives have been characterised by disruption, abuse and/or neglect that affects their relationship with their primary caregiver in a negative way, may develop a range...
Top tips for the terrific twos – Tip ten: “time and weather”
My second son recently turned two. Friends have commented that my first son skipped the terrible twos. They presume my professional skill set will get us through them again. I don’t fancy my chances. This series of articles presents ten tips for...
‘Gifted’ and ‘talented’ and sometimes ‘misunderstood’
In England, the Department for Education (DfE) distinguishes between gifted learners and talented children: Gifted learners are those who have particular academic abilities Talented learners are those who have particular abilities in the...
The importance of the first 1000 days
There’s significant research to indicate that the first 1000 days (conception to age 2) is a critically-important phase, indeed many claim that this time period is where the foundations of a child’s development lie. This phase is the perfect...
Top tips for the terrific twos – Tip nine: No!
My second son recently turned two. Friends have commented that my first son skipped the terrible twos. They presume my professional skill set will get us through them again. I don’t fancy my chances. This series of articles presents ten tips for...
Top tips for the terrific twos – Tip eight: join them in the overwhelm
My second son recently turned two. Friends have commented that my first son skipped the terrible twos. They presume my professional skill set will get us through them again. I don’t fancy my chances. This series of articles presents ten tips for...
Top tips for the terrific twos – Tip seven: overwhelm
My second son recently turned two. Friends have commented that my first son skipped the terrible twos. They presume my professional skill set will get us through them again. I don’t fancy my chances. This series of articles presents ten tips for...
Top tips for the terrific twos – Tip six: timing transitions
My second son recently turned two. Friends have commented that my first son skipped the terrible twos. They presume my professional skill set will get us through them again. I don’t fancy my chances. This series of articles presents ten tips for...
Top tips for the terrific twos – Tip Five: Don’t Think of an Elephant!
My second son recently turned two. Friends have commented that my first son skipped the terrible twos. They presume my professional skill set will get us through them again. I don’t fancy my chances. This series of articles presents ten tips for...
What does it mean to be “me”?
When a child is born, they have no understanding of themselves as a separate person, unable to differentiate themselves as somebody separate from the others around them. Developing this individualised sense of being someone different happens...
Top tips for the terrific twos – Tip four: slow motion
My second son recently turned two. Friends have commented that my first son skipped the terrible twos. They presume my professional skill set will get us through them again. I don’t fancy my chances. This series of articles presents ten tips for...
Top tips for the terrific twos – Tip three: promotion
My second son recently turned two. Friends have commented that my first son skipped the terrible twos. They presume my professional skill set will get us through them again. I don’t fancy my chances. This series of articles presents ten tips for...
Tip Two: Don’t Say My Name – Align-Attune-Invite instead!
My second son recently turned two. Friends have commented that my first son skipped the terrible twos. They presume my professional skill set will get us through them again. I don’t fancy my chances. This series of articles presents ten tips for...
Top tips for the terrific twos – Tip one: the terrific twos
My second son recently turned two. Friends have commented that my first son skipped the terrible twos. They presume my professional skill set will get us through them again. I don’t fancy my chances. This series of articles presents ten tips for...
World Breastfeeding Week
This month sees the start of World Breastfeeding Week (WBW), which runs from the 1st – 7th August each year. It is the annual campaign coordinated by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) that aims to “inform, anchor, engage and...
Sun safety for practitioners and parents
So far this summer we can’t complain about our ‘traditional British summer’ which is usually a colloquialism for ‘lots of cloud and rain, especially on bank holidays!’ None of that this year though as temperatures have already broken records and...
Summer holiday activities that don’t cost anything
Yippee! They’re here! The summer holidays are now upon us and we all have that carefree spirit! Well – that’s the official line anyway, but what if you work, are worried about the cost-of-living crisis and have run out of ideas of what to do...
Children’s Art Week
It’s back! Children’s Art Week is here to inspire and help children and young people to take part in practical activities with artists and art educators. The week is organised and run by Engage - the National Association for Gallery Education,...
National Insect Week
Can you hear the buzz of excitement for this week? Stick around, there are some un-bee-lievable ideas! Sorry – we just had to get a few bug puns into this article as we are really excited to be covering a relatively new awareness week, at least...
Child Safety Week
The safety of the children in our care is the most important thing that we are responsible for as early years practitioners. Yes, we are following the EYFS and of course we are looking to enrich the lives of our children through education...
View from the door – designing learning environments from children’s viewpoints
High-powered binoculars are amazing. They let you easily see the details of an object from a long distance. Most of us think of using a pair of binoculars for leisure such as bird or whale watching, but these visual instruments are also used as...
Learning Disability Week
This month sees the return of Learning Disability Week, organised by Mencap, the national charity with the aim of raising awareness of learning disabilities and learning difficulties, and supporting those who have them, to live meaningful and...
How to make the most of your outdoor space
Spring is here and it’s time to shake off the winter woollies and explore the great outdoors! Not everyone has some outside space in their setting, but if you are lucky enough to have even the smallest space, make sure you are making the most of...
Food Allergy Awareness Week
What is a food allergy? A food allergy is when “the body’s immune system reacts unusually to specific foods.” Usually, it occurs when a person has eaten the food they are allergic too, but in some cases, it can occur if the food is merely...
Mental Health Awareness Week
We cover mental health a lot in the Parenta magazine, since it is something that has a profound effect on how we live our lives. Good mental health is needed to maintain health, hold down a job, make ends meet, and ultimately, give us a reason...
Water Saving Week
Earth – not the ‘final frontier’ but seen from space, we call it the ‘blue planet’ as seventy-one percent of the earth’s surface is covered by water. The oceans hold about 96.5% of all the water on the planet but this is salt water and humans...
World Malaria Day
April 25th is World Malaria Day, an annual event which takes place across the world to raise awareness about malaria and how it can be prevented. It aims to celebrate the progress that has been made towards eradicating this life-threatening...
Stress Awareness Month
There is no doubt that in recent years, we have all been under a lot more stress than usual.. The pandemic, lockdowns, school and setting closures and not seeing friends and family have caused many of us to re-evaluate our lives. We are...
Things we didn’t know about recycling
Recycling is now part of our daily life, or at least, if we want to live a more sustainable life, and leave the world in a better state for our children, it should be. But apart from the 3 Rs of reduce, reuse and recycle, how much do we actually...
Improving parent communication in early years settings
Do you remember when communications were limited to the post and wired telephones? Thankfully, those days are long gone, and settings now have many ways to communicate with parents. But are you making the most of these, or are you still relying...