Happy Lessons

  Early Days Hi, seeing a newborn reminds me of the many babies I have met both personally and through my work in Early Years Settings. Through study and observation certain common threads have developed. I thought they may be useful for the many new parents out there ,so I thought I would share them. Being parents for the first time can be very challenging. Babies, unlike washing machines, do not come with a manual and a one size fits all approach does not work either. As new parents you will have likely gone through an exhausting birth, your hormones will be all over the place, and that is both parents, as well as the physiological and emotional changes for new mums, dads will have also experienced a gambit of mixed emotions such as stress, excitement, fear, euphoria and the weight of responsibility that comes when you become a parent. Being a parent for the first time is a series of firsts and also requires making decisions without any experience but overwhelmed with advice. Thi

  Newborn Baby Special Hi All I know it has been a long time since I blogged but the birth of our first grandchild has inspired me to reopen the dialogue. Newborns are tiny, but they are also eager to learn from the moment they are born. Their senses are heightened as they suddenly get full access to a wide variety of new sensations through sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell. Introducing playthings that are specifically designed to help them build new brain connections will help facilitate this development. When babies are born their sense of sight is still developing and for the first few months newborns see images with a high contrast most clearly. Ideally images in black and white and then after the first few weeks with the addition of red will stimulate them most. These images can be in the form of mobiles, activity mats, soft books, toys or simple pictures. There is also a strong link between a Child’s intelligence and the amount of words they hear; are exposed to in