With National Hugging Day around the corner, let’s consider the many developmental benefits of a simple ‘hug’. Benefits of touch Touch is an essential human need and is the first of the senses to develop in a human child. There is a reason that skin to skin contact is encouraged immediately…
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January 16, 2020
Through imaginative play your child is acting out situations they have seen or been a part of, which is great for learning how to navigate social situations…
April 5, 2017
Expert Psychologist, Dr Amanda Gummer, comments on recent findings that early parental intervention can help to reduce the long-term symptoms of autism.
October 26, 2016
Should Schools be Responsible for Teaching Children Life Lessons? By Dr Amanda Gummer 1 The American website, Quartz, recently published an article about how schools around the world are starting to teach children not only about academic subjects like science, maths and English, but also emotional and social subjects like perseverance and gratitude. Governments have started…
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May 20, 2016
Personal, social and emotional (PSE) covers topics such as confidence, sharing and managing feelings. Good development is incredibly important as it affects how a child interacts with the world; because of this, it can have a large impact on a child’s progression in many areas, including learning in a school environment, in addition to their well-being. In…
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October 1, 2015
One of the best loved and most played with toys that we own is a toy boat my son was given for his first birthday. He’s coming up for 5 now and yet he and his little sister still play with it most nights in the bath. Like most pre-schoolers, much of their free time…
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August 26, 2015
What a NIGHTMARE! We use the term ‘Nightmare’ to describe a range of bad situations but a real nightmare can leave a child feeling angry, shameful, scared, anxious, or upset. Whilst toddlers can take a long time to calm down because they believe the nightmare to be real, older children can learn to differentiate dreams from…
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December 9, 2013
Communication skills are paramount for both adults and children but there is more to communication than just learning to talk. Listening, interpreting verbal and non-verbal signals, writing, drawing and increasingly email, text and twitter are all forms of communication. Whilst some children can communicate confidently from an early age, others find it difficult to make…
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September 30, 2013
Along time ago, in a land far, far away called Germany there lived two brothers. Their names were Jacob and Wilhelm and they collected folk tales and myths. Together they were the ‘Brothers Grimm’. Over the years we have all come to know and love these stories. We read them to ourselves as we grow…
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August 19, 2013
Have you noticed how children play out disaster situations like Hurricane Sandy in their play? Understanding how and why children do this can help us react appropriately and use the play opportunity to develop skills such as empathy and understanding in our children. Children who are getting their teddies, dolls, action figures or Playmobil out…
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October 29, 2012