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We’ve been working hard behind the scenes over the past few years, and on the 12th October our very first book made its way out into the world! Featuring 60 easy activities that help parents and carers to support their baby’s physical, cognitive and emotional development.

My First Five Years Baby: Everyday activities to support your baby's development is the first in a new series of books we’re publishing with Bloomsbury. It breaks down the science of child development, explaining how different types of play support their developing skills, alongside 60 activities your baby will love. 

Good mental health is important for you and your child, which is why we’ve put together simple ideas to support your wellbeing.

In this article, we’re going to focus on building positive mental health, rather than on mental illness, but we know the transition to being a parent is a time when there is greater risk of mental ill-health.

Doing chores has been linked with social^[1] and thinking skills^[2] as well as children’s happiness^[3]. Read on to get some simple ideas to help your child learn by getting them involved in helping with everyday tasks.  

You might leave tidying, cooking and other household chores until your little one is having a nap. Often having a tiny helper can make it feel like everything is taking longer, but children love to help.  

As a parent, the words ‘potty-training’ can make you feel hopeful for a world where you aren’t constantly shelling out for nappies (they aren’t cheap!) but can also fill you with dread. How do you actually go from your child using nappies to going to the loo? It can sound like hard work to anyone, let alone a tired parent.  

For a start, you might find your parents’ or family members’ experience of potty-training was different from how your friends approach it.  

Life with an under-five is undeniably busy; going to groups, vaccination appointments, buying the right size clothes, playing with them and much more. If you’re parenting with a partner, you might share these tasks – but have you ever stopped to think if you are really sharing all of the task? Or is one of you still taking on more of the jobs that make the task happen? 

Taking your baby to a vaccination appointment isn’t simply about getting there at the right time, it involves:  

Have you ever watched one of those videos on social media of a toddler making their own breakfast and been both horrified by the idea of the mess it would make in your house... and slightly wish your little one could start making their own meals as soon as possible? We know it’s hard to start cooking with your child, so we’ve pulled together our top tips for getting your child involved in the kitchen – and shared an easy-to-follow visual recipe perfect for them! 

Children learn lots when helping to prepare food- and everyone needs food so there are times every day to practise, making cooking a wonderful learning opportunity. 

When you think of mindfulness, what do you imagine? For lots of people it brings up images of meditation, sitting calmly and quietly or listening to a very soothing voice talking about waves.

All of these are ways to practice mindfulness – but in reality, being mindful can also be learnt through play, which is a brilliant way to help your child understand how to be mindful.  

Picking your way through the various advice and opinions on your child’s development can be overwhelming. Throw into the mix a load of words that have never been part of your vocabulary and this parenting journey can feel like another world. 

But don’t worry – we’re here to de-code, decipher and demystify wherever we can, to give you the information you need to make the decision that’s right for you, your child and your family.

In the discover more section, on your Today screen, you’ll see articles that are tailored to your child’s skills. If you’re looking for a quick read about their development that’s a good place to start.  

Critical thinking might not be something you associate with your baby or toddler. But like many essential skills the foundations of analysing information and forming a judgement are laid in early childhood.  

The Cambridge Dictionary defines critical thinking as:  

In this week’s podcast, Alistair and Jennie are joined by Jimmy McLoughlin OBE, of Jobs of the Future, to discuss the skills that will support your child in the fast-changing world of work.

This is especially important to think about, because it's so unlikely that we can imagine all the jobs that will be available for our children.

Many jobs available today would have been impossible to prepare for 30 years ago. The pace of technology change, as well as developments in how we live and work, means we need to prepare children for a world of work we can’t possibly plan for yet.