Surely, once children begin to read or learn their numbers they should be doing that in their spare time, rather than playing?  This couldn't be further from the truth!  In fact, children that play tend to become better and more attentive learners on average, and what you must remember is that when chidren are playing, the are learning the whole time too!  This is what ToucanLearn is all about... sharing ideas of games, activities and crafts that are GREAT FUN, but we show you the learning elements too so you can see exactly what your little ones are actually learning about.  As they are doing the activities with you, they are learning even more (Two CAN Learn much better than one)!

Do you need special equipment at each age stage in order to encourage your child to play?

NO!  Play can involve anything (more or less!).  From wooden spoons and saucepans, to folded socks and a washing basket!  It can mean jumping in puddles to learn counting or throwing gloves to see how far you can get them or posting junk mail into a shoe box made into a letter box.  All sorts of things can be used as long as you are there to help the game along!

What do children learn through play?

They learn about the properties of objects and how they work.  That if you throw something hard, it will go far.  They learn about their own limitations: they may be great on the scooter but not so confident on a bike.  They learn about their environment (stairs and steps) and other places (on a walk to the park).  They learn how to play with other children and how to interact with adults.

Will playing make them better at school?

Many studies have concluded that children that play with their parents are more curious and interested in learning.  Playing is a great way to get them active and interested.  It may also help their social skills and helps develop healthy relationships with other children.

Plus, possibly most importantly, by playing with your children, you are developing and securing your won relationship with them - which is absolutley vital.

So, just get out there and do some ToucanLearn activities, fool around, have a laugh and enjoy these special years when playing can be so much fun for your both!

For many months a new born baby will not be interested in playing with their toys - no matter how colourful the toys or encouraging you are, toys are not something they seem really interested in.  Until the age of one, most babies will not be able or interested to play alone for very long.

In the early days, you will be far more interesting to your baby.  They'll want to follow you round with their eyes, try to mimic what you do, be around you and it's a great time to spend quality time together.  Even if baby does begin to enjoy playing with toys, make sure you are always near so you can share with the experience.

Toys present only one small way that children learn about the world and their place within it.  The brain develops more in the first two years of life than at any time.  Playing and interacting without people is the way babies learn.

How do Babies Learn?

As babies learn to reach and hold things, they become more interested in toys.  "What happens if I bang this?"  "What a soft feel this teddy has."  "I like the sound of that."

Then, they realise they can make things happen themselves.  "If I drop this, it makes a noise and someone will come and pick it up.", "If I shout, someone comes.".

Playing, chatting and singing of course is the way children babies learn about speaking and language.  From birth they hear your voice, the sounds of music, the noise of cars and talking.  All these influences go on to combine to make up their knowledge and understanding of words and language.  They pretend to chat on the phone, they sing and babble.

What Toys Could You Buy for a 6 month old?

Toys that are tactile and feel nice are always good.  Choose things with lots of bright colours and lots of fun shapes and sizes, things that make a noise and things that are easy to hold.

... and for a 12 month old?

Try things that move or pop open or have doors that shut, this begins to teach cause and effect: if I press this, then that happnes.  Physical aparatus to encourage moving is also fun at this age: tunnels and tents.

... and for an 18 month old?

There are thousands of manufactured toys for toddlers, such as building blocks, role play toys (phone, kitchen), puzzles and games, outdoor equipment and so on. But remember you are the best thing for a baby to play with!  There are so many things you can so easily do together:

• Play in the baby bath with water and bubbles
• Sit and read books together
• Listen to music
• Have some rough and tumble: swing your baby through the air, have a dance together
• Go to the park: have a go on the slide, swings and climbing frames
• Study leaves and flowers together, feel the texture and look at the shapes and colours
• Look at photographs of people you know
• Look through colourful chldren's catalogues and just chat about what you see

Lots of simple, easy, and non-expensive ways to spend time together.  Who needs toys?!

Babies should never be given a pillow before 12 months, and best advice is to wait until 2 years - even after that, if they sleep happily without one, then there's no reason why they shouldn't continue without one for longer.  You might want to place a pillow case under their head if they are prone to dribbling so that you can keep the top of their sheet clean.  Pillows present a danger to babies under 12 months with risk of suffocation.

If you do want to introduce a pillow for your toddler then there are a few considerations.  Although you don't have to buy a pillow sold specifically for toddlers, you should ensure that any pillow they use is firm but not thick because deep pillows can lead to bad posture.  If your baby suffers allergies, then an artificial  fibre presents the safest option.  You may also want to check that the whole pillow is washable so that you can clean it should the need arise.

Expectant mothers in the late stages of pregnancy may want to pamper themselves with a pregnancy pillow.  These come in various shapes (sausages, crescents and other patented shapes) and are designed to provide support for your back.  One of the more popular brands of nursing pillow is the Widgey!  Most pregnancy pillows double up as nursing pillows, helping you to cradle your newborn baby whilst breastfeeding, or helping Dad to support the baby while bottle feeding too.

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!

We are all so conscious of dangers when we take children out: cars on the road, tripping on pavements, falling from a swing.  However there are 400 children admitted to hospital every WEEK with injuries following accidents in the home.  This is a staggering number - especially when this is just those under the age of five!

What we have to remember is that children and toddlers and babies are constantly growing and experimenting and exploring.  The way they learn is to watch and copy us.  So, we need only take a look through their eyes to see what they might see and then we'll realise how accidents - that are totally avoidable - can happen.  And, we'll see how easy it is to prevent those accidents taking place.

Tablets and pills - many toddlers can take off the child-resistant caps on bottles of pills. The child-resistant caps make it more difficult to open, but are not impenetrable for a child.  A simple adult painkiller could poison a child.  They see you take a few, and it helps your headache.  If they get hold of them, they take a few and it could be disastrous.  Toddlers may think they are sweets, that they taste nice, that Daddy has them so why shouldn't I, that they make them grow strong.  So, keep bottles of pills well out of reach. 

Lighters and matches - children can ignite lighters by accident and can cause a match to inflame by just playing with them  They don't realise the danger they could cause.  There are 6,000 house fires every year caused by children under ten!  When they look at a match or lighter, children see the flash of light, the spark, it's like magic.  Keep the matches and lighters out of reach.

Stairs - About 800 under fives are taken to hospital each WEEK having fallen down stairs.  They develop the climbing skills need to get up stairs very quickly... almost without you noticing they could suddenly be able to get up a few steps. It can be dreadfully dangerous if they fall down.  Kids think its fun to go up, it's a challenge and everyone else does it so why shouldn't I?  Well, if they do they might fall and hurt themselves, get a stair gate and remember to use it!

Knives and utensils in the kitchen - It's so easy to forget that little ones can one day reach kitchen surfaces.    Make sure all knives, and heavy utensils are well back just in case they reach up and something comes crashing down.

Hot Drinks - tea and coffee can scald and burn a baby's skin.  Don't put hot drinks on low tables or on unstable surfaces.  Tea and coffee is made with boiling water and stays hot for a long time.  If they they go to try your tea without you seeing, and pour it over themselves by accident - it could scar your child for life!

It's not all gloom and doom!  But being very aware of potential dangers is vital in order for you and your child to have a relaxed home!  If you make just a few changes to the way you do things and if you just keep one step ahead if you can... you'll be okay!

A few final tips:

1. Fit a smoke alarm and TEST it frequently.
2. Keep all medicines, cleaning fluids in a locked cupboard out of a child's reach.
3. Fit stair gates and safety guards round fires.
4. Keep hot drinks on tables that are out of reach.  Don't drink hot tea with your baby in your arms.
5. Keep saucepan handles, electric flexes etc well out of reach.

Table manners are a tricky area for young families - you want your child to eat nutritiously whilst eating slowly enough to avoid gobbling and causing indigestion but fast enough to get on with the day!   You want meals to be a happy experience for everyone and for their manners to be good: eating with mouth closed, not tallking when chewing, no rude comments about the size, look or taste of the food and 'please' and 'thank you' are welcome too!

But, don't be too hard on the children!  They learn from example, so the first thing to do is show them (not tell them!) how to eat a meal properly.  Start by making sure the children (even toddlers) sit throughout the duration of the meal.  Make their time at the table as short as possible, so call them when their food is served and has cooled enough to eat.

Encourage them to stay at the table while you all eat.  Of course, when you consider it appropriate they can get down, but try and establish the idea that you all stay at the table together for the meal.  Don't expect too much though.  A toddler is doing well if they don't throw food, so don't expect correct utensil use at age two!

Teach all toddlers and children to wash hands before eating.  This is a good way to signify the beginning of the meal and is hygenic even if your child is beyond finger food.  When they do mess around, try not to get angry, just explain in a calm voice what they are doing wrong.

Try to use 'please' and 'thank you' yourself!  It's as easy for adults to forget but if the little ones see you saying it they will too! And, there's nothing nicer than a proper 'thank you' to the chef at the end of the meal!  Especially encourage it when you're visiting friends and you're bound to be invited back!

The result, hopefully, is calmer and easier meals for you all!  The earlier you start introducing good manners, the better the children will adopt the behaviour and do it without trying.  Remember,  mealtimes make for the most wonderful family occasions...every single day!

Being a toddler is all about gaining independence, becoming more mobile and a keenness to learn about everything. Toddlerhood is a very rewarding time for you as a parent, as the baby that you have nurtured from their most vulnerable days begins to turn into the most amazing person. At this stage you'll see them doing so many new things like eating with a spoon, drinking from an open cup, climbing stairs, playing make-believe and so much more. These are rewarding days, but you'll quickly forget all the little things that made you stop and think along the way. Use your blogs in ToucanLearn to record all of those moments, and you will capture your baby's childhood in a way that you can look back over it in the future.

Babies and toddlers love experimenting with textures. Finger painting offers a great activity that allows them to play with textures and make patterns. Yes, it's messy, but so much fun for you and your babies! Perhaps the safest place to do fingerpainting at home is while strapped into a highchair; at least that begins to contain the mess - make sure you also put newspaper down on the floor though, or better yet, use a vinyl tablecloth as a floor cover. Experiment with patterns, swirls, handprints - if you're really brave you could even do foot printing and foot painting!