Writing is a vital skill that children will eventually use over and over again in all subjects at school.  Whether writing up an experiment in a science lesson, writing a story in an English lesson or writing about their favourite sport, writing is unavoidable.  But, learning to write can be tricky to start with and some children are simply put off by all the complications of writing.  This is easily avoidable and because writing is so vital at school and indeed in the adult world too, it's important to introduce children to writing in a fun and positive way.  Then, these early skills will be built upon and writing will be the next step.

Some ideas to make learning to write a positive experience:

1. Spend lots of time talking to your child and listening to them.
2. Read lots of stories - whenever and wherever you can.  Try all sorts of books with all sorts of pictures.  As they get to school age, introduce non-fiction books: how things work, children's books about topics they like such as cars, trains, dancing etc.
3. When writing yourself (shopping lists or notes to school or nursery) encourage your child to watch and see you write words.  Encourage them to write too.
4. Get some fun paper to practice writing on: different sizes, textures, colours etc.
5. Get some good (and fun!) pens and pencils for them to use.
6. Give lots of praise if they do manage to write and don't focus only on their mistakes.
7. Break down the letters when they are learning, so they an see how to build the letter shapes.  (ie. a P is a straight line and a circle at the top.)
8. Once they are beginning to learn, leave messages for your children or post it notes on their bed or door  Write on their chalk board say hello!
9. Put together a photo album and caption the pictures.
10. Send yourselves a postcard if you go away or out for the day.

It can be fun and with a little thought, you'll find that your little ones enjoy writing and begin to make great progress.  Perhaps one day they'll be writing their own blog!

Gestalt is a set of psychological principles, founded in Germany in the 1920's, that try to describe the way that we make sense of the world - the skills that set a 2 year old toddler apart from a robot!

There is no direct translation for the word Gestalt but it means something like 'essence' or 'form'.  Several core principles make up our understanding of the world, and many children's toys and puzzles are aimed at practicing with real world interaction in order to make our own understanding of these principles.  The principles include:-

1. Proximity: if similar objects are grouped in clusters then we perceive them to be in groups
2. Similarity: we perceive objects to be similar if they are similar in shape, colour or size
3. Common fate: if objects move together then we interpret them as being related
4. Continuity: we perceive the continuation of lines as being part of the same object
5. Closure: we interpret a circle made up of dots as a single object even though it is not complete
6. Symmetry: we perceive symmetrical borders as corresponding edges and overlook the individual lines that make up a pattern, seeing an overriding shape instead

Gestalt attempts to describe how, when we look out of the window, we convert a series of lines, colours and shapes into a meaningful view of trees, houses, cars and so on.

The principles begin to explain how we make sense of what we see, and also what we hear, around us.  Take a tree as an example.  To adults, and even young children, it is clear that a trunk, branches, leaves and flowers make up a tree, but to a newborn baby, there's no automatic connection between all of these parts that make it obvious that a tree is a single object.  Over time a baby's brain forms the necessary connections required to interpret that the lines, shapes and colours that we see indeed make up a tree.

This understanding is formed using the principles of gestalt: branches are similar, there is continuation between the trunk and its branches, there is common fate amongst the leaves which all flutter in a similar way in a breeze, as do the branches which all move together in stronger wind.  All of these clues lead us to be able to interpret a tree as being a unified object.

The amazing thing about babies and toddlers is that they are making these connections and learning and by the age of 2 years, they have a good grasp on all of this.  Yet scientists have been trying to apply these same principles to robots for decades and yet still a robot is not able to interpret the world in the way that an untutored toddler can!

Once we form these connections, it is difficult for us to unlearn them, and there is a branch of psychology that believe that some forms of learning difficulty might arise from basic misinterpretation at an early age.  If a toddler interprets the world along different principles, then it can be difficult to reprogramme the mind to work otherwise and that can lead to long term learning problems.

Sums, maths, numbers - what ever you choose to call it, we cannot deny that learning the basics about numbers and adding up is one of the most important things your child will learn.  Numbers are everywhere and play a great part in our lives.  Even if you consider yourself to be no mathematical genius, there is still loads that can be done to put our children on the right path when it comes to numbers.  Apart form actively helping them understand their numbers, it is great for their self esteem if a parent or carer shows an active interest and shows a positive attitude towards numbers.

Here are some tips to get involved with numbers from an early age.

1. Count steps when you climb stairs.  Practicing over and over is the way to reinforce numbers and counting.
2. Play games with your child: throw dice and count the dots, play snakes and ladders, dominoes and other number related games.
3. For older children look at money and the numbers on the coins and notes.
4. Look at door numbers when you go for a walk.  Predict what number the next house will be.
5. Do some physical games that involve scoring or counting.  How many balls can be thrown in the bucket?  How many goals did you score?
6. Make sure there are some number toys in the toy box: rulers, clock, counters and coins, tape measure, pack of cards.
7. Keep an eye out for various patterns as you go out and about.   Copy any designs you see or spot shapes in the design (floor tiles for example).
8. Look at clocks and calendars together.  Talk about time and days.
9. Do simple arithmetic.  Add up grapes at tea or sandwiches on a picnic.
10. Do cooking.  Make some simple recipes and weigh out the ingredients together.

Toddlers can't read, so why do we bother with reading them books?  The answer is simple: one day they will have to learn to read and if they like books, associate them with fun and good experiences, they will be more inclined to want to learn about letters and sounds and eventually reading.

Being able to read a book is a huge and marvelous gift.  It opens the world up for little children and allows them to enjoy the fantastic stories that are available and help them learn at school.  So, by reading to the toddlers and even babies, you're helping them for when they need to learn to read at school and indeed helping on their journey through school.  Plus, even more important at this stage, introducing them to a wonderful world of stories and adventures!

So, what to do to make books fun!  Here are a few tips:

1. Read as often as possible!  You can read a book in bed, while on a journey, in the morning.  Have some cuddly time together when you read and make it cosy and comforting for you both!
2. Try and bring the stories to life by using lots of expressions and funny voices!  It will make your child laugh and will help you get through all the kiddie books without getting bored yourself!
3. Talk about the stories together and try and guess what is going to happen.
4. Let your little on choose the books.  Read the favourites as many times as they want!  Children love things that are familiar so they love hearing books over and over again!
5. Try and encourage the children to say the rhyming bits with you or the catch phrase.
6. Try and get as many book as you can!  Go to the library, book sales, car boot sales and get a wide selection.
7. Allow children to handle books all the time.  Yes, teach them to be careful, but get board books if they are heavy handed and let the look at the pictures, feel the pages and turn the pages.  You don't need to have a shelf of pristine books that no one is allowed to touch.  Better a shelf of books that have been used, and read, and enjoyed for many years!

Today is Mother's Day in the UK and Ireland and although Mother's Day is celebrated in most countries around the world, different countries celebrate it on different days of the year.  Indeed a Mother's Day falls in some country during nearly every month of the year.  One universal feature is that the celebration is Mother's Day rather than Mothers' Day - the distinction being that we are celebrating the achievements of our own individual mother, rather than of all mothers collectively.

The ancient Greeks and Romans celebrated festivals to Mother's and such a celebration features in most religions too.  In the UK and Ireland, Mother's Day falls on the Fourth Sunday in Lent, suggesting that its origins lie with the Catholic Church celebrations of the Virgin Mary.

In the USA, Anna Jarvis began a campaign to establish Mother's Day which was eventually recognised as a national holiday in 1914, falling on the second Sunday in May.  However the holiday was quickly commercialised and Jarvis quickly came to regret what had become of it, spending the rest of her life campaigning against the commercialisation of the festival.  Today Mother's Day is worth over $4bn to the US economy!

Whatever your feelings on whether it's an important celebration or all commercial hype, no one can deny that Mothers deserve to have their achievements celebrated, so take some time to reflect on your own mother, and let's be grateful for all they have done for us!

There are lots of activities you can do with your child to introduce them to reading, that don't necessarily involve learning to read in the traditional sense.  Here are some tips to make learning to read an easy, fun and inspiring time for both you and your children!

1. Look at the pictures: Look at the cover, the pictures throughout the book.  Discuss the style, colour scheme, characters depicted.
2. Look carefully at the title of the book.  Explain to your child what the title is.
3. Look at the characters throughout the book.  What are they doing?  What do they look like?  Do they remind you of anyone you know?
4. Talk about the sequence of pictures in the book.  Look for differences and talk about why may be happening.
5. Chat about what might happen in the book.  Predict a story together and what the ending might be.
6. Make up a story with a different ending and describe what the picture might be if your ending was used instead of that actually in the book.
7. Start looking at the words together.  Follow the words with your finger and then with your child's finger.  Chat about what letters begin each word and sound out the words together.
8. Look at the pictures for clues of what's going on in the story.  Show your child how the pictures can be a great help when learning to read.
9. Focus on the easy words and brush over the hard words or those that are not easily read by new readers (the, said, giraffe).
10. Chat about the book the day after and see how much you can remember together.

Most importantly, have fun when reading with your child.  Don't get annoyed if they don't understand immediately  or struggle on words they knew yesterday.  Certainly don't force them to read or make them do it if they're tired or not in the right mood.

Enjoy... learning to read can be so much fun and they will make you so proud when they try hard and make progress.

Children learn from their surroundings, and are informed by the people the interact with, parents, teachers and carers - make sure that your children are being given a model example because otherwise they will pick up traits and habits that you don't like!

Table manners present a host of unwritten rules that we want children to abide by: remain seated until everyone has finished; finish all the food on your plate; no toys at the table; eat with your cutlery; arms and elbows off the table.  You may wish to impress some or all of these rules but whatever your stance, make sure that you follow them yourself.  Your children won't understand if they aren't allowed toys at the table but that you use your mobile phone at the table.  Why should they eat everything on their plate if you don't finish everything on yours?  Why should they remain seated if you disappear mid-meal to make a phone call, start washing the dishes or take on another chore?

This illustrates just how easy it is to contradict yourself, and can is mirrored in many other areas of a young toddlers life!   Be aware of such contradictions in any regimented environment where we expect our children to conform to rules or manners, and especially to the language that we use and the ways in which we address others.  If we lead by example then our children will naturally follow.

New research has found that one in ten children will be obese in the next five years - what a staggering statistic!  Research carried out at the University of London studied statistics between 1995 and 2007.   The health survey for England provided the data which takes a sample of UK households.

If the trend continues, then researchers predicted that 1 in 10 boys aged between 2-10 will be obese by 2015, and approximately 1 in 9 girls.  In lower income families the statistic was slightly worse. They said  'these increases will affect the lower social classes to a larger extent'.

The research was published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health - let's hope the predictions don't become reality.  It's so important to get kids up and moving from an early age.

Children who are overweight at a young age risk greater likelihood of health problems in later life, including diabetes and heart disease.  Children who are more active in their first few years are statistically more likely to maintain an active lifestyle when they are older.

There is so much that parents and carers can do and its one area where you don't need to spend much money.  Going to the local play park, setting off on nature walks round your neighbourhood, heading off the woods and climbing on fallen tree trunks, even walking or scooting to school instead of driving.  Enjoy an active lifestyle with your children and they will benefit for years to come.  Premium Members of ToucanLearn can search for 'Physical Development' activities 'Outdoor' and find lots of fun games and activities to do outside, specifically aimed at the capabilities of their children!

Jaundice is a common condition that affects around half of newborn babies, usually coming on about two days after birth.  Premature babies are more susceptible, 75% of premature babies go on to develop jaundice after birth.  Jaundice is caused by too much of a naturally produced serum, bilirubin, in the body.  Bilirubin is created by the body breaking down red blood cells, and is then converted into a form that the body can dispose of as waste by the liver.  However, babies break down significantly more red blood cells than an adult, producing proportionately more bilirubin, and the organs of a newborn baby aren't fully developed.  Their body may produce more bilirubin than their liver can handle.

The symptoms of jaundice are a yellow tinge to the skin and in the whites of the eyes; sometimes presence of jaundice must be confirmed through blood tests.  Historically, and wrongly,  it was believed that people with jaundice saw everything with a yellow tint, giving rise to the notion of having a 'jaundiced view' of things.

Jaundice is usually treated by placing a baby under ultraviolet light.  The eyes must be protected as UV light is harmful to them, but other than that, the treatment is simple, painless and in most cases successful over a two or three day period.  In severe cases, a blood transfusion may be offered.

Jaundice suffered in adults or older children is harmless, but in newborn babies the brain tissues are still forming.  Bilirubin can build up in the grey matter of the brain causing irreversible brain damage (called kernicterus) - this may be unnoticeable but in rare cases the damage can be severe, leading to loss of hearing, delayed development and learning difficulties.

Late onset jaundice can arise several days after birth and is more common in breast fed babies.  Late onset jaundice usually clears up on its own without treatment, but look out for the yellowing signs and raise it with your doctor or health visitor if you suspect that your newborn might be suffering from jaundice.

Role play forms a natural part of childhood, before long your little ones will assume characters in different scenarios and act out the different parts.  Often role play is based on what children have observed, such as caring for younger siblings, keeping a shop or playing doctors, families or schools.  As their imagination grows, so they begin to play made up scenarios such as fairies or princesses, explorers  or monsters!

Role play offers many lessons to a developing child; clearly pretend play extends language and social interaction as children play with one another, or with a parent.  Make believe nurtures imagination and helps children to develop abstract thought where they can extend the rules of the physical world into their pretend world.  As they play they are developing their understanding of the world, learning to solve problems and learning the ability to view the world from the perspective of others.

Many role play games reinforce gender stereotypes from an early age; this seems to be a natural part of early play.  Doctors and nurses and mummies and daddies might seem politically incorrect in this day and age, but the lessons learned from free play are much more important than lessons enforced about gender stereotyping at this young age.  Any separation along lines of gender simply mirrors their understanding of the world through their own observation, and is done entirely innocently.

Other role play games reinforce notions of good and bad; cops and robbers, fairies and witches, cowboys and indians or simply goodies and baddies all draw lines between the good side and bad side and children dividing themselves in such ways will conform to the expected behaviour.

Young children should be encouraged in their make-believe worlds.  They might be asissted with dressing up clothes or large props such as play houses or camps, but at the end of the day, children will be children and will explore their imaginary worlds even without these!

If you live in England or Wales, you have access to fantastic medical resources in NHS Direct and NHS Direct Wales - particularly useful for families with new babies and are uncertain as to whether a cough, splutter or wheeze is normal or the sign of an important medical condition!

NHS Direct was announced in 1997, and rolled out between 1998 and 2000, giving faster access to direct medical advice.  Most enquiries are made by telephone (0845 4647), calls are switched to dedicatedcall centres staffed by trained medical staff.  They will ask questions relating to the symptoms, and then advise on what action you should take.  They will advise whether you should make an appointment with your doctor; if they perceive there to be a serious risk, they might advice you to seek urgent medical attention in a hospital or even to dial the emergency services.

The NHS Direct website contains a lot of valuable health advice and information, as well as a symptom checker to help you to diagnose your symptoms online.

Scotland is served by NHS 24 and Wales by NHS Direct Wales, Northern Ireland has its own NHS service but doesn't appear to offer a similar direct telephone service.

NHS Direct will give you immediate assistance and will funnel you to the correct service.  Given that most of us don't have medical training, it is reassuring to know that help in assessing any medical situation is just a phone call away.

Children can be very inquisitive, often asking very good questions, and it's easy to brush off or ignore ones we can't answer, but if they ask a question that you don't know the answer to, seize the opportunity to explore the topic and both you and your children will learn something new!

The internet gives us the most amazing resource imaginable - at our fingertips are the answers to almost any question on the planet, and certainly to any questions that our children will pose!  If a challenging question comes your way, take time to research the answer, and encourage the inquisitive, learning nature of your little ones.

The internet is not the only resource at hand.  Perhaps a question might lead to a trip to the library, a museum or the zoo?  You don't have to answer just a single question, take the time to explore the topic area more broadly and that way your children will learn so much more.  Young children absorb facts in an astounding way, but they also need to hear the conceptual reasons behind something as they build up their knowledge and understanding of the world more broadly.

Of course, your children won't understand scientific reasoning behind complex answers, your job is to couch  explanations in terms that they will comprehend.  Reference things that they do understand, and explain things using examples and experiences from everyday life that your little ones will understand.

Well, why is the sky blue and why do fish live in water?

The sky appears to be blue because air molecules scatter more blue light than other colours, until the sun sinks on the horizon at which point the light is coming indirectly and more red, yellow and orange light is scattered, sometimes leading to glorious sunsets!

Fish don't have lungs, but gills - these have developed to filter oxygen out of water rather than taking oxygen from the air.

Now, try explaining those in terms that a four year old will understand!

Play is important for every child and for the first few years of their lives, babies and toddlers learn a huge amount during what they consider to be 'play'.  This is why teaching through play is such a great way to guide and educate our children because the message gets through, they learn and yet it all happens while they are having fun, playing!

During play, children expand their understand of the world, their understanding of themselves, and indeed their understanding of other people.  Once children play together, it is also a way to start communicating with other children and sharing ideas and games.

By six months, children have learned, through trial and error, various sequences that they practice.  If they push a ball, it rolls!  They see that something happens and they like the feeling of it happening.   They are learning to grip and drop and use their hands.

By nine months they might push a ball, crawl to get it and push it again.  They master new skills and make the play more interesting and complex for themselves. They use props more and gravitate towards toys they like.

By a year, they are able to be even more accurate with their props/toys.  They know a rattle will rattle and can kick or throw or roll a ball.

Types of play

• Sensory play: As they gain confidence and control their games become even more complex.  They enjoy the sensation of movement such as swings and slides. They will do things over again to relive the experience.

• Pretend Play: Children begin by being adult led and take the initiative from parents when starting out with pretend play.  Once they see what they can do, they may take the lead.  They may take familiar roles of doctor, or Dad when playing.  They may need, props and costumes and will probably be happy making a dressing gown into a super hero cape or tying a scarf round their head to make a princess veil.

• By 4 or 5, pretend play becomes peer focused and they children will happy to share a pretend game together, working out what to do and who is going to be who in the game.  They will discuss the rules of the game, how it will unfold.  They may well guide behaviour by suggesting an action.  "You'll need to drink your tea before you go to work, Dad."  Pre-schoolers will also have to overcome conflict and negotiate.

• Constructive play: Blocks and boxes are used to create a pretend miniature world.  This type of play, allows the child complete freedom to create a world of their own.

• Physical Play: Rough and tumble, running games, chasing games are all popular with pre-schoolers.  They have more control at this age and can jump, run, climb and chase.  Overly aggressive behaviour should be checked, but it's all about learning how to control their body and what they are capable of.

• Organised games: A more logical and formal game arrangement becomes popular between 4 and 5 years old.  They can cope with and understand the idea of having rules and  are able to follow those rules in order to have a fun game.  The idea of competition is introduced and that of winner or loser!  Teams are also introduced and the idea of working together for a common goal.

What's our role?

Observe and comment in a positive way to encourage them.

Play with them especially when they are young,  It affirms the idea of playing and makes them feel worthwhile if you are willing to play too.

Create a playful atmosphere and allow them to play - give them permission to make some noise or a mess!

Make suggestions if they are stuck.

Ensure everyone plays safely ie. the equipment is safe and that the children behave properly too!

New research brings consensus to the idea that the dinosaurs were wiped out after a phenomenal asteroid collision sited at what is now the Yucatan Peninsular in Mexico - this is the stuff of boys' imagination, combining two fascinating boundaries of knowledge: dinosaurs and space.

Although your little ones are probably too young to comprehend the reality of either space or dinosaurs, why not at least introduce these ideas?  No matter where you live you probably aren't that far from a museum that has exhibits on at least one, if not both, of these topical areas.  Plan a visit and activities around one of these two areas!

Space

To foster an interest in space, take your little ones outside after dark to observe the moon and stars; explain that every star is like our sun but so far away that they appear to be tiny.  Talk about concepts of near and far based on things you can see nearby, explain how further objects appear to be smaller than nearby ones.

Introduce the idea that we live on a planet called Earth and that there are lots of other planets in space but so far away that we can't see them.  Look at a map of the world and describe how we have lots of countries and lots of sea, and perhaps name some of the countries that your little ones might have heard of.

Create a spaceship out of old bottles, boxes or cartons and encourage your kids to go off exploring the universe!

Dinosaurs

Time is a very confusing and abstract concept.  Children struggle to distinguish 'today', 'tomorrow' and 'yesterday', so having them conceptiualise dinosoars roaming the land hundreds of millions of years ago is going to be a challenge!  But you can explain that dinosaurs were like giant monsters and that there were lots of them a long, long time ago!

Find pictures of dinosaurs in a book, online, or best of all, in a sticker book, and look at the different creatures.  Point out their different characteristics such the styles of their legs, tails, horns; maybe some of them have funny necks and small heads, others might have huge teeth; lots walk, some fly, others swim.  Study the pictures and tell your children their names.  See if they can pronounce the really tricky ones - to them the sounds may be no more alien than many of the other words and phrases they hear every day.

Why not make a dinosaur park?  Draw and cut out your own dinosaurs, make more out of card or old bottles, and see if you can create a dinosaur menagerie.

It has been said that Grandparents are taking the lead when it comes to teaching our children traditional values and standards of behaviour.   Over half of those questioned said they learned good manners and values from their grandparents.  Many considered their grandparents to be like second parents, and said that they considered the parents to be confidants.

As the structure and dynamics of families change, it seems that grandparents are now playing an even greater role in children's lives.  Grandparents provide more and more childcare, support in financial or emotional ways and seem tp play an increasing role in the family life.

However, the role of grandparent changes as the children grow.  They may be carer in the beginning, baby sitter as they are older and friend and teacher as they grow up.  Here are a few ideas of the roles a grandparent can play.

Respected ancestor: grandparents are our link with the past.  They are the head of the family and living proof of the family's history.  They can talk about 'the old days', share stories of how life used to be and create a whole new world for little ones who love to listen to their grandparents (often embellished!) tales.

Friend: children feel happy to discuss things with grandparents who often appear more relaxed and permissive than parents.  Children seem more likely to discuss things freely with grandparents and even talk about injustices that they feel with their parents.

Hero: being older, wiser and having lived for so many years, children can see grandparents as their heroes, full of stories and experiences of days gone by.

Teacher of practical skills: they can teach how to polish shoes, how to skip, how to knit, how to do the washing-up.  Grandparents have so many skills and the time to teach them!  They therefore become a role model for children.  They can can be a mentor and guide children in a spiritual way.

Constant, reliable focus: in a world where divorce and separation is becoming more and more common, children look to grandparents as a constant in their life.  They provide a nurturing and reliable place to go and feel wanted and cared for in an unconditional way.

Teachers of social skills: teaching children how to behave in public, how to look after themselves and how to communicate with adults.

Playmate: the magic that a grandparent can bring to a little child's life is priceless!  The simplest of tasks become an adventure with a bit of inspiration and the fresh take on a situation that a grandparent can have.  Children adore the excitement that grandparents can create and the games they have together.

In short, the role of grandparent has many layers, and indeed changes over time.  Being a grandparent is what you make it and with a bit of time and thought it can be such a positive inspiration and a vital part of a child's life.

You don't need fancy toys or equipment in order to be a good grandparent, though.  You don't need lots of brilliant ideas and complicated activities lined up for a visit.  You just need some time, a little creative thinking and be willing to listen to what your grandchildren ask you for.  The most important thing a grandparent can offer is a friendly ear and someone to listen!