With the weather getting colder and wetter, we find ourselves looking for indoor ways to keep everyone laughing and having fun. So switch off those televisions and celebrate the harvest […]
A friend recently had a Facebook status asking for ideas about starting Christmas traditions with her 2 year old son. So I literally spewed all my family traditions into her […]
Family Movie night can be such fun! Snuggling up on the couch in front of a warm fire and munching on popcorn and snacks is a fabulous way to spend […]
Family nights in together don’t have to be big fancy affairs! We try to do one a fortnight, on a Friday so that if we run a little late for […]
Our weekend in pictures… A formal Jazz themed fiftieth birthday party at Woburn Hotel, and a trip to Woburn Safari Park.
The Victoria sponge or Victoria sandwich cake was named after Queen Victoria of Great Britain. It is believed that she enjoyed a slice of the sponge cake with her afternoon […]
Recipes for Summer Salads, Vegetables and Light Lunches – Edition 01 Summer Salad and Veggie Days are here! Here’s a bunch of easy summer salads and vegetable dishes to get […]
“Mommy, how come these little ones get away with things that I couldn’t when I was their age?” is the usual complaint of the eldest children. This is symptomatic of […]
Bedtime routines and rituals are very important for most children in establishing positive sleep patterns and in developing a sense of security and stability. In this article, you will learn […]
We all want our little ones to grow up happy. Here are some positive suggestions to help yours do just that. Read our top 5 happiness boosters and get started […]
What kind of parent are you – an encourager or an intimidator? The encourager stresses working towards a certain goal. The intimidator stresses winning. For this kind of parent, “It’s […]
Parents naturally want their children to be the best, whether in academics or extra-curricular activities – or both! Young kids especially find happiness in pleasing their parents and would do […]
Should you encourage your child to fall asleep and stay asleep in a silent environment? Do you tiptoe round after bedtime? How much noise is too much? Can noise help […]
The first 2 plus years of a child’s life are lived in diapers. Raising a baby has many wonderful rewards and some challenges. As parents we sometimes are just concerned […]
Most of us do not enjoy change or new unfamiliar situations. Children are far more comfortable when their day to day lives are predictable and repetitive. Starting with potty-training, moving […]
What can parents do now to prepare their kids in the right direction towards thinking for themselves and making good (or better) choices? Experience tells us that prudence can be […]
How This Simple Act of Affection Yields Major Gains in the Child’s Health, Disposition, and Overall Development. In a November 2005 issue of the “The Straits Times”, a leading Singapore […]
The three-year-old is full of wonder and spends a lot of time watching, observing, and imitating. Their days are filled with busy exploration of their world. Become a part of […]
We thought we’d look at Dad’s and how they can be better in their roles as parents. Father’s have an important role to play in the lives of their children. […]
Ever wondered what you could be doing for your littlest ones to help them discover the joys of movement? Here are some age appropriate play ideas for learning about moving […]
…I Learned in Kindergarten … (a guide for Global Leadership) All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned […]
Fireworks of all kinds are used to celebrate Guy Fawkes and New Year’s Eve as well as many other celebration days. They can be designed to burn with coloured flames […]
Every parent wants to ensure that their child is healthy. How do you do this? How do you go about getting your toddler or small child to enjoy healthy eating? […]
Music is present in many areas of our daily lives. From live musical scores in theatre to television, mainstream movies, a celebration of worship through song, special holiday and celebration […]
Be consistent about bed times and waking times. Your toddler is more likely to respond positively if he’s used to a specified schedule. The earlier your child’s routine is established, […]
Right from birth, babies enjoy the company of others and learn by interacting with others. They try to attract attention in a variety of ways and begin to use their […]
Being with others in a social environment helps children to build relationships and develop the ability to participate fully in society. Babies and children need to be with people who […]
My LO is turning one on Saturday. I have no idea what to do. I didn’t plan on anything other than a cake, a hat, balloon and a photograph (given […]
Mommy bullies are the worst of the bunch! Just when you thought people could not be any more repulsive, along comes a gem like this. I belong to a mother’s […]
Leaving your little one at home with a babysitter can be a very scary and anxiety causing event. I know it took me a long time before I was comfortable […]
Parents often wonder if they should give their kids chores to do at home. Many parents feel that it is their responsibility to manage the household and are unsure whether […]
I am one of 4 children, I have an older brother, a younger sister and a younger brother. We did not always get along. In fact, I can truthfully say […]
There are so many reasons a child won’t go to bed. From the moment our babies are born, we spend a huge amount of time looking into good sleep routines, […]
Spending time outdoors with your child is beneficial to both you and them. If you have a garden with trees or a nearby woodland, then I recommend building a den. […]
Ball skills lessons play a crucial role in the development of early years children for several reasons. These lessons provide children with a foundation for physical, cognitive, and social growth, offering them a range of benefits that extend far beyond the realm of sports and physical activity.
The Power of Active Play and Obstacle Courses Gross motor skills refer to the abilities and coordination of the large muscle groups in the body that enable activities such as […]
School readiness encompasses various developmental areas. Ensure your child demonstrates social skills, emotional resilience, physical abilities, fine motor skills, language proficiency, cognitive abilities, and self-help skills. These areas include following […]
Anger management for children between the ages of 2 and 5 can be particularly challenging due to their limited language skills and still developing emotional regulation abilities. At this stage […]
Summer is the perfect time to get out in the fresh air and have healthy fun with your toddler. In this article will be sharing some ideas to help you […]
Age group: 6months+
Summer is here and with it comes the school holidays. Children are home and most likely getting bored. So, what do you do for those weeks that are not planned […]
Nursery Rhymes Series Part 1: We have decided to do a series of activity and crafts articles to help you and your toddler make the most of the Nursery Rhymes we […]
Flowers are such fun to make and children find them really satisfying. Whether you are making them to celebrate the arrival or spring, as gifts for someone special, for a […]
Have some fun with Spiders. Enjoy creating these webs with your little one.
Nursery Rhymes series Part 1: We have decided to do a series of activity and crafts articles to help you and your toddler make the most of the Nursery Rhymes we […]
You know how at the end of Christmas, when you’ve taken down the beautiful Christmas tree that has brightened up your home, everything suddenly looks bare and sad? I always […]
Use a few simple items to create magical miniature winter scenes in old glass jars. These make cute gifts for friends and family too.
Simply talking, singing, playing sound and word games, reading, writing and drawing with your child are easy ways to build a firm literacy foundation. Your usual everyday activities, like going to […]
What better way is there to get your little ones thinking about our planet than by filling a week with activities about it. We have put together some practical ideas […]
You know how you get stickers that you can scratch and sniff? Well here is my version of fun and smelly homemade paints! Well technically it’s not homemade paints, but […]
For many parents, the idea of six weeks of summer holidays is terrifying. How will you keep your children amused and happy? What can you do to make sure they […]
The skies are bluer, the breeze is warmer, the flowers are blooming and cute, cuddly baby creatures are being born. Along with all these marvelous changes to our environment, it […]
I’s only Twelve days until Christmas. Here are 12 fun things to do with your children. One for each day from now til Christmas Eve. Let the Christmas countdown begin! […]
Autumn is a lovely transitional time of year when the fresh colours of summer give way to all things red, orange, golden and brown. I adore how the landscape changes […]
Now that the rain keeps falling, I thought you may like to learn some fun and funny poems about rain with your toddler RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY Mother Goose Rain, […]
Are you tired of the usual carrot left for the reindeer? Tired of answering the “Do the reindeer come inside to eat the carrots?” question. The “why do we only […]
St George’s Day is a time to celebrate the patron saint of England. It’s a super excuse to enjoy or learn about some of England’s customs and traditions, and also […]
For a brief few days pumpkins during October, jack-o’-lanterns will flicker across many countries, the happy result of wicked imaginations, fun-filled family afternoons, and lots of elbow grease. If your […]
At this time of year it is great fun to be indoors doing arts, crafts and baking. This post pulls together all the harvest/ autumn/Halloween inspired activities from this site […]
Each of my children has their own collection of decorations for the Christmas tree. Every year they are allowed to choose a new one from the shops to add to […]
Little children love books… so take advantage of their natural interest and get them into the habit of reading . Here’s a quick guide to getting them started.
Have you ever wondered how to go about helping your child get to grips with the basics of numeracy? Here I cover some ideas for teaching your child about number […]
Most babies and toddlers love books. They are often funny, bright and colourful, with loveable characters. But there are many reasons to read books that are less obvious. Take advantage […]
How do you know what types of books to choose for your baby or toddler? What can you do to encourage and foster a love of reading? Below I discuss […]
To give you a hint about what books are available for toddlers, I have searched through recommended lists and asked some mums for their toddlers favourites. This is what we […]
Little children love books… so take advantage of their natural interest and get them into the habit of reading . Here’s a quick guide to getting them started.
In our world, there have been some exceptionally brilliant minds, and many of these individuals learned to read at a young age, usually by 3 years old. Here are a […]
Do you know what’s wrong with our children today? The problem is that the powerful brains of our healthy children are rarely challenged by complicated thoughts. Instead, they’re further dulled […]
Have you been wondering how to create or provide the opportunity for literacy development? Do you know that there are really simple and effective ways to do this in your […]
So, you want to teach your child to read, but before a child can learn to read, he or she must first learn at least some of the letters […]
Did you know that 38% of grade four students have reading abilities below the lowest basic level as determined by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)? The NAEP is […]
Every child should learn to swim so that they are safe around water. If you have yet to teach your children the basic principles of swimming, now might be the […]
We’re Going to See Hetty Feather! Being big Jacqueline Wilson fans, we jumped at the chance to go and see and review the stage adaptation of Hetty Feather, one of […]
When you have small children, it can be difficult to create a fun and child appropriate Christmas eve celebration. Make Christmas eve a special and entertaining one for the whole […]
Good ideas fromAmazingMoms.com – to which I have added my own points. Combine dressing up in costumes with free candy and you create a kid friendly holiday! Although Halloween is […]
Here are some great Christmas decorating ideas to make this Christmas just that more special for your kids and family.
I’m always looking for ways to create childhood magic for my children. I like to keep the fun, laughter, and silliness of being young alive for as long as possible, […]
When in England, when the weather turns foul, head to a nearby museum..you won’t be disappointed. We’ve had a few less than outdoorsy weather days this week and in the […]
Every year about a week or two before Halloween, we go pumpkin picking. Well, technically it’s not pumpkin picking, just choosing and buying as they are already cut from the […]
Spending on a trick-or-treat bag to collect your Halloween treats can often feel like a waste of money. If you have not already got reusable buckets or fabric trick-or-treat […]
It’s Children In Need fundraising time and my children’s school has asked that all to dress up as their hero or a superhero for the day. My youngest was the […]
How our elf has become an important Christmas tradition: When I decided that we would welcome an elf to our home as part of our Christmas celebrations and traditions, I […]
The Adventures of Jingle, Our Christmas Elf, Day 7 You know that cosy place when you’re dozing all warm in bed somewhere between awake and asleep? Well that is where […]
Jingle, our elf visitor, played it lo-key after his busy weekend and was found sitting at the top of our newly trimmed Christmas tree this morning. So instead of writing […]
The Adventures of Jingle, our Christmas Elf Day 13 Indoor Snowball Fight! Jingle was found sitting behind a huge pile of Snowballs in our lounge. The snowballs were soft, white […]
The Adventures of Jingle, our Christmas Elf – Day 14: Our sweet and generous Christmas elf was snuggled up inside one of the stockings that are hanging from the mantel […]
Holiday Travel can be simple. If you are like me and you have several children, holidays in the school holidays can be a little bit expensive. However, the price I’ve […]
Ideas for using Balloons… (other than simply blowing them up). Balloons are not only delightful decorations for parties and events but also versatile objects that offer various uses and opportunities […]
A Photo book is a beautiful way to keep and share your memories! I am the official memory keeper in my family. I love being able to look back at […]
Fireworks are lots of fun but they can also be very dangerous. If you are not planning going to an organised fireworks event but rather to have fireworks of your […]
This recipe makes around 12 delicious muffins so you will probably need to double it to keep everyone happy. Why not use it to make Muffin baskets for friends and family […]
Making beautiful Christmas Gift in a Jar presents is fun, inexpensive and very unique. The kids (of all ages) can really get involved with this and make Christmas giving even […]
This yummy chocolate is just what is needed for the cold winter days. Make a jar ahead of time to for your family to enjoy, or as a special treat […]
Fruity Apple Raisin Christmas Stuffing 3/4 cup of minced onion 1 1/2 cups of chopped celery 1 cup of butter 7 cups of soft bread cubes 1 tablespoon of salt […]
After the excitement of unwrapping all those gifts on Christmas morning, how can you make the thrill of all those new items last? Organising your Christmas toys This article explores […]
My older boy just turned 6 and for his special day he wanted a Minion Party based on the Minions from the movie Despicable Me. Here are some ideas to […]
North Pole Breakfast A wonderful part of the Christmas Elf tradition is to have a North Pole breakfast . This is usually the first of December or the first weekend […]
Well, Christmas eve arrived and was the usual flurry of activity. We attended the Crib service at church and then had our annual Christmas Eve concert at home with friends […]
As a child I always thought staying up late and going out on New Year was so exciting and cool. Then as a child-free young adult I got to go […]
I’ve never met anyone who does not like or love the children’s book The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson. It has been a favourite in our home for the last 8 […]
A new mom stranded on an island with no food would naturally lose the pregnancy weight fast because of the lack of food. Although there are many factors that […]
Last week I wrote about the 32 things I had lost since becoming a mom. This post follows up on that by mirroring those things with what I have gained […]
I thought it would be fun to document a 30 hour period in our family’s life. It was fun and interesting taking my camera out and about to capture the […]
So 2015 has arrived and has prompted me to think about getting older. As you do, I took a moment to do my annual stock take. What are my dreams, […]
Yes, I realise that 39 things in 39 years makes me a slow learner, but hey…It means I’ve had time to really ponder it all! These are the things I […]
A little look at me and who I am… Sometimes when I read blogs I enjoy getting to know who is behind the writing. I thought it might be fun […]
The winter blues are finally disappearing into the distance. Layers are coming off, skies are turning blue, birds are chirping in the trees and people are emerging from their winter […]
So I was doing a little stock take of life the other night. You know how it is, when you’re woken at 3am and suddenly your mind is whirling with […]
Here at ToddleBabes we recently had the pleasure of sampling some of the new Lego Duplo sets. We randomly selected a few of our readers and the generous folks at […]
Each area of your home provides you with a unique form of comfort. Comfort and clutter cannot co-exist. Clutter and mess only serves to bring unbalance and will dampen any […]
Fussy eaters can be a worry, especially if your child refuses to eat. BUT it is worth knowing that it is extremely rare for a child to starve themselves! In […]
Personally I don’t need any excuses to eat either chocolate or strawberries, so this decedant dessert is perfect for me…and I’d wager, some of you find the combination very appealing […]
Banana and chocolate are a great combination, so why not try these scrummy banana chocolate muffins as an alternative to the usual chocolate muffin? OK, so the picture definitely does […]
Get baking with your toddlers this holiday and make these incredibly simple yet scrummy brownies… So yum, they may not even have enough time to cool down before they disappear! […]
This yummy fruity banana recipe is perfect for the summer while Strawberries are in abundance…try it with other berries too! Preheat oven to 375° F. PASTRY 1 1/3 cups flour […]
A good balance of your time is needed for work, goals, recreation, and relaxation. Take a close look at your daily routine, examine your findings and come up with a […]
Read here to find out how to move home successfully with toddlers, how to prepare them for the move and getting them to help. Moving is a stressful experience for […]
I make no apologies, this Christmas cake has been in print for over 21 years. I have been making this cake since 1994. Over the years I have adapted […]
Very few poeple I know don’t enjoy gingerbread. My children like to make gingerbread,m but only if they get to use the cookie cutters and create shapes out of the […]
A modern day scone is a single-serving cake or quick bread. Scones are usually made of wheat, barley or oatmeal. Although many countries have their own version of a scone, […]
Surprise your friends or family members with a little pre-prepared cookie mix gift in a jar. Home made gifts are always well recived. I often make gift in a jar […]
Meal planning – how to get started Save each week’s meal plans, especially the ones that have have worked well with recipes that have been the most popular, and you […]
Sometimes it is just not possible to get fancy with the evening meal. Busy days at school and work mean that often, a quick solution is needed. Here are some […]
If you’re anything like me, you too will hate having to make sandwiches for your families lunchboxes everyday! Cue a busy morning of dressing, feeding and making sure everyone […]
Ever thought of putting courgette in a muffin? Well you should. As odd as it sounds, the courgette barely adds flavour, at least in this recipe it is masked by […]
Another courgette recipe? Yes! During the late summer and early autumn, I have a huge amount of courgettes growing in my garden. I always seem to plant to many […]
Hidden Courgette Chocolate Cake My children are not fans of vegetables. I’m always disguising them in foods. Grating carrots or courgettes into bolognaise sauce, finely chopping onions into stews and […]
The Pajama Elves URGENT DELIVERY by Hayden Edwards! Our family already enjoys the Christmas Elf tradition where an elf visits your home in the lead up to Christmas and gets […]
The funniest kid in fiction is back! Follow his life’s ups and downs told through laugh-out-loud letters, emails, texts and more! This is the first time I have read a […]
When you’re pregnant, people excuse you those many lapses of memory and cognitive function. They call it ‘baby brain’. When you still can’t figure out which way to turn a […]
Every child deserves the best possible start in life — and your support to meet their full potential. During this busy time of your child’s development, toddlers are learning a language, developing imagination and growing in independence. It is the time for fun, learning, playing, wonder and growth. At ToddleBabes we give you the parenting tools you need with easy, affordable and practical activities and advice that will ensure all these areas are covered.