Author: luke

In the UK more than 200 babies die from SIDS every year, most of these deaths occur in babies under 6 months and is more common while they are asleep. Although SIDS is rare it can be of huge concern to parents of infants and although the exact cause is unknown, there are multiple factors considered to increase the risk and many things parents can do to enable safe sleep and reduce the risk.

Parents are encouraged to always place their baby on their back with their feet touching the end of the cot or Moses basket, keep the baby’s head uncovered and allow them to sleep in the same room as them in their cot or Moses basket for the first six months. They are also encouraged to breast feed if they are able to and feel comfortable doing so.

Just like parents are advised to take certain steps, there are a handful of things they should also avoid.

A woman should not smoke during her pregnancy or allow someone to smoke in the same room as her and baby, before and after giving birth. Parents are also discouraged from sleeping in a bed, chair or sofa with their baby and especially told not to share a bed with baby after smoking, taking drugs or drinking alcohol. They also shouldn’t allow the baby to get too hot or cold, you can find lots of advice online on achieving the perfect, comfortable temperature for a baby to sleep successfully.

Similarly, whilst there is lots of advice surrounding the topic of SIDS and safe sleep for babies, there are also a lot of myths and misconceptions.

Some parents feel nervous about putting their infants on their backs to sleep as they believe it increases the risk of them choking but this is a myth and has no evidence to back up the claim. Another misconception is that sleeping on their side is just as safe as sleeping on their back, but this is incorrect as it is a lot easier for the baby to roll onto their stomach and increase the risk of SIDS. It’s important for parents recognise not all ‘tummy time’ is unsafe and while they are awake and being watched it can actually be beneficial and improve development of their neck and shoulder muscles.

For additional safety, we advise no loose blankets, pillows and cot bumpers. If you’re using sleep grow bags, they must be the correct size for your child, if they’re too large, babies can wriggle down putting them at risk.

Other hazards to avoiding include teddies, sheets and objects hanging over the cot.

While SIDS is one of the biggest concerns to new parents and there being no definite way of preventing it, the best thing that can be done is to follow recommended advice. By taking these precautions the risk of SIDS is reduced.

If you follow all advice and still have some major concerns about the risk of SIDS, then seek professional advice and ask your GP if there is anything extra you can do for a small amount more reassurance and comfort.

 

Scallywags and SIDS

At Scallywags, all staff follow the Safe Sleep Guidance and SID’s whilst babies and young children are in our care. All sleeping children at Scallywags are never left unattended and monitored whilst sleeping and records are kept and logged for parents’ information.

We have yearly training to protect children from SID’s and information boards on displayed for parents.

Whether first thing in a morning or just before bedtime, making sure your children are doing a decent job at cleaning their teeth can be a challenge for any parent.

Though its largely preventable, tooth decay remains the most common chronic disease among children aged 6 – 19. On top of this, poor oral hygiene has been linked to everything from speech delays to dental pain and infections to diabetes.

 

Contributing factors to poor oral health in young children

Bottles that are used for milk and water purpose during the day should be limited at the age of 1, as this can affect teeth formation and tooth decay. Similarly, dummies should be limited to night times or reduced so help support oral health and speech and language.

Snacks such as raisins, grapes and snack bars are high in sugar as well as many other foods and snacks marketed for children. Parents should remain cautious what hidden sugars are in certain foods. Water and milk should be the only source to drink.

We’ve put together a 4 tips to make brushing and flossing fun and part of your child’s daily routine.

 

Start Early

Dentists recommend starting dental care even before your child’s first tooth arrives by wiping down their gums nightly with a soft, damp cloth. Switch to a toothbrush when their teeth start to come in and schedule a visit to the dentist by the first birthday, regardless of how many teeth they have.

 

Set an example

Children learn through copying those around them. If your child regularly sees you brushing your teeth, they’re more likely to want to brush their own. You could even brush your teeth together and set them up their own brushing station.

 

Make it fun

At any age, we need to make sure we’re brushing at least twice a day for 2 minutes a time.

Two minutes can feel like a lifetime for our kids, so try getting creative with brushing to make it more fun and less tedious.

 

• Set a fun, colourful timer or purchase a brush that times for them
• Play their favourite song or find ‘Teeth Brushing songs’ on YouTube for them to brush their teeth to
• Offer incentives. If they brush for the full two minutes, they can choose what book to read at bedtime or choose the movie at movie night
• Create a reward system with a sticker calendar or gold stars
• Role play with a story – maybe aliens have invaded their teeth and they need to defend by brushing
• Have them brush their favourite toys teeth whilst you clean theirs

 

Give them a choice

To encourage them, have a range of brushes, toothpaste, brushing songs and brushing games. Letting them choose their own routine adds to the excitement of simple daily tasks and as a result, they’re more likely to brush without a fuss.

Creating a fun routine at home will ensure your child develops good hygiene habits as they grow.

Change4Life website is full of useful tips for oral health and support. You may find that the biggest challenge when it comes to teeth brushing isn’t getting your child to brush their teeth but avoiding certain foods that could affect oral health.

We recommend that children under 8 are always supervised as they do not have the skills to complete this task alone.

Good Luck.

British Values has been implicitly within the Early year’s foundation stage statutory framework since 2014. The Early Years foundation stage statutory framework is the standards that schools, and childcare providers must meet for learning, development and care of children from birth to 5.

‘Fundamental British Values’ is part of the statutory prevent guidance that all childcare providers need to follow.

There are four British Values childcare providers must promote. All four values fit somewhere within the categories of Personal, Social and Physical Development as well as Understanding the World. Like everything else in childcare, promoting the British Values will require taking different approaches for different ages:

Younger Children: Focusing on promoting the more general concepts with the EYFS knowing that their development within these areas is key to promoting the values in the long term.

Older Children: Looking more explicitly at the values and come up with ideas more closely tied into the values themselves.

Ofsted

In the Ofsted inspection framework, it now states that inspectors will make a judgement on how settings are ‘actively promoting British Values’. The Ofsted Inspection Handbook also explicitly mentions ‘British Values’ in both the Outstanding and Inadequate judgements.

 

The Fundamental British Values are Democracy, Rule of Law, Individual Liberty and Mutual Respect and tolerance for those with different faiths.

Democracy

Think of Democracy as a situation where everyone is treated equally and has equal rights.

Within all nursery’s it is important to support children’s personal, social and emotional development by giving them opportunities to develop their self-awareness and self-confidence. This should encourage them to make choices and decisions about what they want to explore and how they’re going to use the resources accessible to them.

 

Scallywags and Democracy

As our team plan different days, we always ensure activities are child focused. Making sure everyone gets the same opportunities, but also that the activities are tailored to individual interests.

Children at Scallywags are encouraged to choose an activity they would like to take part in. In turn, this helps us to create a ‘theme’ for the month, ensuring activities are enjoyable for everyone.

Rule of Law

This is about understanding that rules matter.

Rule of law is about learning to manage their own feelings and behaviours as well as right from wrong. It’s about having children learning to behave within agreed and clearly defined boundaries and also dealing with any consequences that may occur.

To teach ‘Rule of Law’ ensure that children understand their own and others’ behaviours and its consequences and learn to distinguish right from wrong. Collaborate with children to create the rules and the codes of behaviour for example, agree the rules about tidying up and ensure that all children understand rules apply to everyone.

 

Scallywags and Rule of Law

At Scallywags Nursery, we incorporate British Values through our 5 golden rules for our older children (aged 3+).

Our Golden Rules include:

• Using their manners
• Sharing and Taking Turns
• Listening when others are speaking
• Playing nicely with toys and books
• Kind hands, feet and bodies

Each year, our children take part in choosing the above values as part of Individual Liberty (below).

We also begin to introduce British Values earlier for children aged 2+, however, there are usually less, and the values are simpler.

Individual Liberty

For Individual Liberty, it’s important to focus on children’s self-confidence and self-awareness as well as people and communities.

Nurseries have a responsibility to help children to develop a positive sense of themselves. Every time we provide opportunities for children to gather wildflowers, mix their own colours for leaf painting or take part in a sack race, we are helping them to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and increase confidence in their own abilities.

Encourage a range of experiences that allow children to explore the language of feelings and responsibility, reflect on their difference and understand we are free to have different opinions.

Mutual Respect and Tolerance

Mutual Respect and Tolerance is where we learn to treat others as we want to be treated.

It’s important to teach children how to be part of a community, manage our feelings and behaviours and for relationships with others.

It’s important to create an ethos of inclusivity and tolerance where views, faiths, cultures and races are valued, and children are engaged with the wider community. Discuss similarities and differences between themselves, others and among families including discussing faiths, communities, cultures and traditions as well as share practices, celebrations and experiences.

Explain the important of tolerance behaviours such as sharing and respecting other’s opinions and promote diverse attitudes and challenge stereotypes. For example, share stories that reflect and value the diversity of children’s experiences and providing resources and activities that challenge gender, cultural and racial stereotypes.

 

Scallywags and Mutual Respect and Tolerance

It’s important for our Nursery to ensure we are promoting an understanding of the range of different religions, cultures and their celebrations from around the world. We usually do this by having the children participate in different activities including artwork, food tasting and dress up.

The toys we provide at Scallywags are also reflective of all religions and cultures, ensuring everyone has something to play with.

 

It’s important to ensure you’re not just doing the bare minimum to promote these values. For example, only having notices on the walls of multi-faith books on the shelves, will fall short of ‘actively promoting’ these values at your setting.

As parents, you know that the first 5 years of development are the most critical. Over a child’s first 5 years of life, their brain develops more and faster than at any other point. From new-born babies to toddlers, children go through their major developmental milestones in their early years, all of which parents can help with. Creating the best environment for your child’s development will help them evolve their health, wellbeing and trajectory for the rest of their lives.

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Physical Development

 As babies, physical development is measured in months. From being able to hold their own head up and roll over in their first months, to taking their first steps around 9 – 12 months, it’s amazing to watch the quick progression children make. As they develop and get older, children start to grow their fine motor skills, such as being able to hold a crayon, draw a circle and by the age of 4 or 5, being able to print letters. It’s important to note however that all children develop at different stages, with some picking certain skills up quicker than others.

As a parent, there are lots of ways you can aid your child with their physical development:

• Create a supportive and encouraging environment.

Allow for safe spaces that your children can roam free in, such as room for your child to crawl with safe objects that they can practice picking up.

• Create spaces for practice and play.

As children get older, give them space to run, jump, kick, throw balls and practice the physical skills they are learning.

• Use activities such as puzzles, drawings and stringing beads together to improve fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

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Cognitive Development

85% of a person’s brain is developed by the age of 5. Cognitive development is harder to measure in babies, but there are some significant milestones that can be noticed. In their early years, babies will begin to create their own facial expressions to show how they are feeling, as well as being able to recognise the faces of others. By the age of 1, babies can understand the concept of object permanence – that an object exists even if it isn’t being looked at.

Young toddlers learn through imitation and exploration. By the ages of 4-5 children observe the world and can analyse what they see. As is common with toddlers, your child is full of curiosity and will constantly be asking “why?”. At this stage children are questioning the world around them to develop a greater understanding of it, getting them to the stage of preparedness needed to start school.

How to aid your child with their cognitive development:

• The primary way children learn is through play.

Create lots of opportunities for children to play, at home, with other children and in playgroups.

• Answer questions.

Help children gain a greater understanding of the world around them by answering questions they may have.

• Everyday moments.

The simplest way to help your child is to talk, sing and read to them.

In their first 5 years, children will develop quicker than at any other times in their lives. Creating the best environment for your child’s learning process will give them a happy and healthy place for their most crucial and developmental years.

One of the most difficult moments as a parent is when your child begins nursery. For most, it will be the first time you spend a significant amount of time away from them, and the beginning of their school life and being taught by other adults who are new to them.

This can be a challenging transition for all the family and bring difficulties not only to you as a parent but to your child. The nursery will bring a massive change to their life, they will spend time away from the adults they know most, meet lots of people, learn new things and be in surroundings that are unfamiliar and perhaps scary to them.

As a parent, it is vital that you do all you can to support them through these changes so it can be a fun and exciting time for them, rather than a time where they feel scared and alone.

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Remain Composed
As a parent you are your child’s most known adult and someone, they not only trust but also someone they take lead for and strive to become. Although this may be a huge transition that could be emotional, try to remain calm whilst with your child.

When talking about new beginnings, encourage excitement and ensure they know all the good things around the corner! And on that first day as you embrace them and have to let them go, be sure to keep the smile on your face and hold back the tears while still in sight.

Wave them goodbye and walk away. Staying calm and letting them go will help to improve their confidence as they have less reason to fear if mummy or daddy aren’t.

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Be proud and praise
Don’t forget to ensure your child knows how proud of them you are. Show how you understand that the transition could be a difficult one for them and be sure to praise them as they embrace this new adventure.

No matter whether they have a good or bad day, find something they have done well and point it out if they make something place it in a prize position at home. These small moments of pride will encourage them to do more of the good things and outweigh any negative thoughts or emotions that they have.

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Talk about it
At times it can seem that children aren’t listening to conversations or taking in what you are saying but the majority of that time they are absorbing the information, and communication is key for providing comfort to a child.

Show them they can share their worries with you and talk them through together. Even though its best to put on a strong front in the beginning, it’s also important they know adults fear things as well. Allow them to see how you have overcome your own worries so they can too.

Just make sure conversations about nursery are left on a positive note so that when they think about it that feeling is imprinted in their mind.

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Preparation
You will often find challenges like this are easier to face if you are prepared. Spend time in advance getting everything ready. Do this with your child so they know on the day all that’s left to do is get dressed, have breakfast and go.

Lay their clothes out with them the night before so they know what they’re wearing, ask what they want for breakfast so they have the comfort of making a choice of their own. Give them a warning before you leave so it isn’t sprung on them.

The organisation will provide assurance that everything is planned out and it’s not one big rush, let nursery feel like a secure, prepared step rather than a jumble of high emotions and getting things together last minute.

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A small something
When the day arrives or even the night before, give them something special, something that will provide them comfort or be a reminder of something they know and are happy with.

Whether it be a small teddy for them to give a cuddle when they feel nervous and out of their depth, or a water bottle with their name on it to make their experience feel personal and adapted for them. Anything simple can assure a child that it’s going to be okay and there is nothing to fear.

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Scallywags Nursery
At Scallywags Nursery we allow children to bring any items that give them comfort into the nursery, such as a dummy, special teddy or blanket. We do however discourage bringing toys so this may be a good incentive to bring them their favourite toy at the end of the day as a special gift.

We also send out a welcome pack to all parents so you can familiarise yourself with activities, routine and our staff names. This is also a great tool to prep your children ready for their first day and help them to settle in quicker.

For more information, please give us a call on 0114 258 2283 or visit our Facebook Page.