My 3 year old son has become obsessed with ‘Bad Guys.’ Should I be worried? Rosie Dutton Boys and Baddies! It’s common for young children to show interest in “bad guys” as part of imaginative play. Children often explore concepts of good and bad through imaginative play & it’s typical for them to be fascinated […]
Childminding numbers “are absolutely falling off a cliff” In just one year, between March 2022 and 2023, registered childminders in England fell by 3,500 (11%) – meaning a loss of more than 20,000 childcare places, data from Ofsted shows. This leaves working parents with a real lack of choice. Childminders are like “micro-nurseries” who have […]
Here is my article published in ScooNews The Preferred Media platform for the education sector – print, online, online TV and events in India. Parents are the most important people in their children’s early lives. Children learn about the world and their place in it through their conversations, play activities, and routines with their parents, […]
First Discoverers and Wesco are delighted to announce the launch of their new free childcare ebook, ‘Defining The Outdoor Classroom’. The latest in a succession of highly popular ebooks, this amazing resource is a comprehensive guide to every aspect of outdoor learning and play in Early Years. The ebook covers everything from risky play to […]
For the FULL INTERVIEW CLICK HERE I caught up and interviewed Dr. Amanda Gummer, Founder and MD at Fundamentally Children who is passionate about giving children the best opportunities in life. As a research psychologist specialising in child development, she has set up Fundamentally Children which includes The Good Toy Guide & The Good […]
The Sue Atkins Parenting Show is where we discuss every possible aspect of parenting, giving you advice and support on topics which affect your daily life. Each free, weekly episode is bursting with practical tips, techniques and ideas. Also, you can sign up to The Sue Atkins Parenting Club for exclusive access to a friendly community […]
I can only say that I am so glad I left teaching 10 years ago as I just watch in horror at my friend’s stress levels as they continue to battle the obsession with data driven, stress imbued, teaching and learning. Stressed teachers create stressed learning environments so children as young as 5 equate learning […]
Today I’m delighted to introduce you to Molly Skyar and Dr. Rutherford. I have really enjoyed reading their really informative, yet easy to read book Shaping a Secure Start: Parenting Your Child During the First 18 Months and found it really enlightening. Here is Molly’s story. “When my son was fifteen months old, my husband and […]
As a former Deputy Head and Class Teacher I read with interest today’s article in The Telegraph about a campaign to delay the start of formal education until the age of seven which is backed by the former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. While I can see that we have gone too far along […]
I’ve just spent a morning talking on lots of radio stations around the UK about the importance of play as it’s National Play Day. A survey carried out by Zapf Creations UK the makers of Baby Annabell and Baby Born discovered that 1 in 10 parents only play with their kids for 2 hours a […]
Here’s a lovely video that Saatchi and Saatchi created watching children tasting new foods like onion, anchovy and marmite for the TEDxSydney conference.
“A chain of happy children trail each other joyfully around the garden dodging in and out of wigwams, wooden structures and plants. Others work intently, like a team of chefs, making an imaginary cake out of shaving foam, mud, leaves and whatever else they can find in the garden of the Limelight Family Learning Centre […]
There are big changes coming in childcare and my great friend Laura Henry is an early years expert. Here is her recent blog to help you understand what the changes may mean to your family. Dear Parents I am a parent of two boys and an early years specialist and have worked within the early years […]
As a former Deputy Head teacher I read with interest this research in Slate showing how teaching kids more and more, at ever-younger ages, may backfire. I was recently in a Primary School running my Confidence Classes for Kids Workshop ( tell your school about them as I’ll happily pop along ) where they had decided […]
Today I am delighted to have as my guest blogger: Laura Henry, Managing Director of Childcare Consultancy. Laura has worked in early years/education for over 25 years and has two teenage sons and we are meeting up to talk about children, childcare and all things parenting today in Bletchingley over cupcakes and coffee ! For […]
