Top Tips from the Early Years Matters Team

Reading with your child is one of the easiest things you can do to give the best start in life.  Sharing books together builds important skills such as listening, talking, memory and attention. What better way to share such precious moments than through a story. Sharing a book at bedtime is a
Continue Reading

Reading with your child is one of the easiest things you can do to give the best start in life.  Sharing books together builds important skills such as listening, talking, memory and attention. Sharing a book at bedtime is a special time between you and your child and a lovely way to end the day. We
Continue Reading

Talk to your child about what you are both doing – e.g. ‘we’re washing the dishes, aren’t we?’ Give your child plenty of time to think about what they want to say back to you. Listen to what your child has to say and reply, sensitively helping them to hear how to pronounce any difficult words
Continue Reading

Be Well-Informed Find out all you can about the nursery through reading their publicity, website and newsletters or other information so that you get a ‘feel’ for what goes on there. Trust your own instincts – if you like what you read you’ll know – so don’t be afraid to trust your
Continue Reading

Sharing a book at bedtime is very special. It is a time to treasure with your child and one that you both can look forward to at the end of a busy day. It is part of your daily routine and one to make that bond between you even stronger. Here are our Tips to make bedtime reading a pleasure for you
Continue Reading

Sharing a book at bedtime is very special. It is a time to treasure with your child and one that you both can look forward to at the end of a busy day. It is part of your daily routine and one to make that bond between you even stronger. Here are our tips to make bedtime reading a pleasure for you
Continue Reading

From 12-24 months your toddler’s sense of who they are is developing quickly.  This can, however, bring with it displays of frustration, wanting to be more independent, and aware of themselves as different to other toddlers. Physically much more confident moving around, you can see how much his or
Continue Reading

The transformation you will see in your baby from a newborn into a confident, communicating and social 12 month old child is amazing! Physically in this first year you will see your baby mature from a tiny being with very little control of his/her head making lots of random leg kicking and arm
Continue Reading

Newborn babies come into the world ready and eager to learn. They are geared to move, to find out about the strange new world and to communicate with those around them. Amazing! Although not yet able to speak words and having what appears little control over arms and legs, your baby is all the time
Continue Reading

The time between 24 and 36 months is often known as the “terrible twos”. This is a perfectly natural part of growing up and when your child is showing increased independence. Your toddler’s emotions are shown easily, including feelings of frustration. H/she wants to do things when h/she wants to. Be
Continue Reading