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As your precious child starts to grow, so to their motor skills begin to develop. When a baby is born, their muscle development starts in their head and neck. As they develop the ability to move and control these, they will then progress onto the large muscles in the body such as their core, legs, and arms. It is likely that when your child reaches the age of two, they will be able to walk and run, and their gross motor muscles will continue to improve and refine throughout their childhood. 

From jelly and ice cream and pass the parcel to party buses and cakes shaped like pirate ships, there are so many different ways to celebrate your child's birthday.

At My First Five Years, it quickly became apparent that children's parties are a hot topic when we starting talking about them, as we shared stories of party experiences with our own children and family members. We shared those moments of alarm when your child requests that thirty class members come round for a Spiderman house party, or asks for a chocolate birthday cake in the shape of Concorde! One particular incident that sticks in my mind is a team member recounting the emergency rescue of her five-year-old sister from a party bus!

Here at My First Five Years, we are book obsessed and we know that you as parents love to read to your children, but sometimes find it difficult to buy books they will love. Therefore, in this blog post we are going to be exploring books that you and your child can enjoy reading outside. 

Newborn babies just seem to cry, eat and sleep, don’t they? We know children learn a lot during the first five years of their life, and we are here to help you enjoy, support and follow your child’s individual journey. But does your newborn know more than they can show you?
In this blog, we will briefly explore some of what researchers think newborn babies know and what this tells us about how they learn.

Touch

For many of us what we want after, or before, a hard day is a hug. Touch helps us to build relationships and to regulate our emotions. Your newborn baby has been aware of touch since around the 8th week of your pregnancy and will have felt their hands touching their face and mouth before they were born. Touch is one of the first ways in which your child learns about themselves and about the world. They use their mouth and then, as their physical skills develop, their hands, feet and body to explore and learn. In this blog, we are going to look at the role of touch in helping your newborn baby regulate their emotions and learn about the world. 

When you pick up a new baby or pass them to someone for their first cuddle, you often hear comments about making sure that you support their head! Your baby does not have the strength to control their head when they are born. But the ability to control their bodies starts at their head and moves to their toes so you will notice them holding their head steady and moving it to look at things quite quickly. In this blog, we will look at how your baby develops control of their head and the part that primitive reflexes play in your baby’s early head movements.  

Cardboard boxes can be hugely exciting. Have you ever wondered why children can sometimes get more use out of a box than the content of the box? 

Going outside with your baby or child gives them the chance to explore the world in a different way, they can move more, notice changes in weather and see, hear and touch things that they won’t find inside. Playing on a hill provides a particular challenge and a unique set of experiences, in this blog we will focus on the opportunities presented for supporting sensory development.

As Christmas approaches and we start thinking about gifts, meals, parties and the big day itself, many of us are increasingly aware of the benefits of sustainability during the festive period. Here at My First Five Years, we have been asked to participate in sustainable Secret Santa groups, donate gifts to those in need and whether we can help in any way to support groups who provide food on Christmas Day.  

Whether you have a big garden, a small garden or no garden at all, doing some planting and digging together can be a great way to support your child’s language development. In this blog, we will explore a little more about how getting outside and gardening can give you opportunities to chat and support your child’s language development.