Imagine a father coaxing his five month old on the mechanics of walking. Or how about a Mum teaching vowel sounds to her 3 month old infant. You would say that they were wasting their time – right? Imagine these parents fearing that their children were “falling behind”. It’s obvious that these things are clearly outside of their developmental abilities.
Read More“It’s the ponies that make the sky pink Mum”. Years ago one of my daughters invented this theory. When I asked her why she thought the sky sometimes turned pink, she pondered the question, and then, out of the blue informed me that “The ponies are to blame”. Ten years on, she still gazes at the sky and with a slight giggle says “Look…. the ponies are here Mum”.
Read MoreThe thought of returning to work after a few months (or years) at home with your wee one is daunting, right? Throw in worrying about your child starting daycare and it’s enough to guarantee some new grey hairs!
Read MoreYou’ve probably seen those Facebook posts doing the rounds, of 'reasons why my toddler had a tantrum' and had a giggle to yourself. We laugh because we can relate! Often it seems there’s no rhyme or reason behind the tantrum - from throwing themselves into a puddle because you dared ask them to put a raincoat on, to the full face of silent rage because you wouldn't let them play in the toilet water.
Read MoreWe all want what is best for our children, however somewhere along the line we have let our fear and anxieties take over. We fear that our children will ‘fall behind’, we push our children’s development from one milestone to the next, and we worry ourselves silly when we compare our children with others.
Read MoreAt New Shoots Children’s Centres we value the importance of food and nutrition and we appreciate the impact we have in establishing healthy eating habits, helping to shape your child’s attitude towards food, and setting them up for life. It is recognised now more than ever that the quality of food that children eat significantly contributes to growth and development and is vital for young bodies and minds.
Read MoreDoes your little one gravitate to certain types of toys? Are they particularly active even during quiet times? When you read them a book, do they pay more attention to the pictures or are they hanging off your every word?
Read MoreSunrise. The start of a new day. Except, the previous day hasn’t yet ended because you’re still pacing the hallway with your newborn, who has no regard for night and day. Your head is drooping and you’re desperate to lay it on the pillow, but the minute you attempt to sit down (let alone lie down) she screams. Or worse, wakes up.
Read MoreChoosing an early childhood centre for your child can be a difficult task. New Zealand has some of the world's best early childhood education, but not all centres are up to the same standard. What makes a good centre? We've put together an extensive list of factors to consider when visiting prospective centres. We recommend visiting at least three centres before choosing the one that's right for you and your family.
Read MoreLet’s face it, sometimes our children’s behaviour can send our blood pressure through the roof in a matter of seconds. Anyone who is a parent knows that our job can be exhausting, infuriating and just down right HARD. With no parenting manual accompanying the arrival of our new born baby, we really just do the best we can with what we know.
Read MoreI stepped into the hotel at Mount Maunganui for our first staff brainstorming session, looked around the people in the room and began to panic…
Read MoreAs soon as they saw me bring out the rope they knew the game that was about to unfold. A rope and our large tree at the end of our playground is all we needed.
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