, burglar alarm boxes and broken paving stones. Each one is a revelation, a whole new world of possibilities. What’s more, says chartered psychologist Nicola Barber, all this exploration is helping your toddler’s cognitive development. And, she adds

? Even lovely ones, like crescents or semi-circles, are a toddler tongue-twister. And that star that twinkles in the sky is probably the only time we celebrate a shape in song with our babies. However, it seems that Tom’s celebration of certain shapes

,” says Dr Evelyn McGregor, Lecturer in Child Development at Edinburgh University.2 Smile and your baby smiles with youIt’s one of the most wonderful moments – when your baby beams a great big smile back at you. It’s a fundamental interaction and a huge

to develop memory and think for herself.By the age of three, your toddler will have developed around 1,000 trillion connections between the cells in her brain, which is around twice as many as the average adult!

THERE ARE SOME things in life that just go together. Like fish and chips. Laurel and Hardy. Toddlers and puddles. And the moment, your toddler spies that tantalizing pool of water, there’s something in his psyche that urges him to make a splash

away. Apparently, even Einstein didn’t start talking until he was three. The good news is that about half the late talking two- to three-year-olds will be in the normal range of development by four and that number rises to three-quarters by five

and dramatically swishes his blonde ‘princess hair’.” According to Professor Melissa Hines, gender and child development expert at City University, Felix’s behaviour is not uncommon. “There’s no reason for parents to be alarmed if their son

A HUGE AMOUNT of action and reaction – or cause and effect – goes on in a baby’s first year. As she zooms through the stages of development, her brain doubles in size. At birth, she is little more than a bundle of reflexes; by six months, she can

While it may be difficult sometimes to fathom your toddler’s love of repetition, it is actually a vital part of her mental development and should be strongly encouraged.During these crucial first few years the connections between the brain cells

1. Jump and hop  Make two circles with two pieces of string – a big circle with a longer piece and a small circle with the shorter piece. Then show your child how to jump up and down inside the bigger circle, then do the same for the small circle. Count each complete jump or chan...