Did you now that pretending to be different animals and moving like animals helps to develop imagination, visualisation, creativity and … body awareness! Why not play these simple games with your...

Best shoes for Babies and Toddlers
We South Africans have always been told how our grandparents walked to school barefoot until they reached high school age, and then only then could their hardworking parents eventually afford to buy...
Learning Series – Eye Hand Coordination – Fun with Scarves
We all have a scarf or two in our wardrobe, and if not, we certainly have a dishcloth. It’s amazing how much one can do with a piece of cloth! From throwing and catching to playing peek a boo,...
Learning Series – Body Art
There are so many fun ways to teach body awareness. Children learn about their bodies through movement, touch and the visual and auditory senses. This game is all about naming body parts and getting...
Counting, fine motor, colours and numbers all in one
Imagine trying a very simple exercise with your little one, where you could tackle various concepts such as colours, counting, numbers and fine motor all in one. You can vary this exercise depending...
Learning Series – Matching our Colours … and learning the rules of the road!
Learning our colours is a right of passage and something we all teach our children from a young age. Toddlers learn their colours best when learning through association. The green apple, the red...
Learning Series – Let’s learn our shapes …. with Play Dough!
Children learn best when all their senses are engaged. Learning our shapes can be taught not only through the visual and auditory senses, but also through touch, creativity and movement. Play Dough...
The Learning Series: Colours
It’s a wrap! Make your own wrapping paper and learn about colours at the same time. There are so many creative ways to teach your child about colours. Painting and printing is such fun, and making a...
Learning Series – Number concept – Bath time fun
Who would have thought that bath time could be used to teach number concept? Water based games can teach your little one all about volume, weight, and the concept of full and empty. Here’s how to...
Age appropriate chores
I have two children aged 2 and 4, and they can turn my house upside down! So to teach them responsibility and life skills, I decided to start assigning chores. There are a few things you need to...
Finding your way in the parenting jungle
They’re nothing like me! What do we do when all the apples fall very far from the tree? I experienced this crisis when my first daughter was born: my polar opposite. She is sweet, content and...
Nursery Rhymes – are these antiques a thing of the past?
Surely, with how the world we live in is changing, and with all of our technological advances, something as old fashioned as nursery rhymes should be a thing of the past? Toddlers now have access...
Milestones for Preschoolers 4-6 years
Developmental milestones are markers that professionals use as a tool to measure a child’s growth and development. We asked paediatric physiotherapist Lauren Mayer, why she thinks milestones are...
Milestones for Toddlers 1-3 years
“Developmental milestones are a set of functional skills that most children are able to do at a certain age. They act as guidelines in a child’s development, and they give us an idea of what the...
Milestones for 0-12 month olds
We have all heard about the importance of developmental milestones. What are they, and why is there often so much focus on them? “Milestones act as checkpoints and represent what an average child...
10 ways to BOND with your Baby!
We hear this term so often that is has the danger of becoming meaningless, when in fact it is a critical part of building a trusting and loving relationship between you and your baby. Bonding is the...
How to make an ecobrick
We are excellent recyclers in our house! We separate plastic bottles and cans, glass, paper and also have a compost heap! We have tried to teach our kids that everything can be used again! So when I...
Old school play for 21st century thinking
I have written about the importance of play in previous Baby and Child issues and will continue to do so as often as I can. This is because I am slightly obsessed with play: the importance thereof,...