Early Years

I heard something on the News today that surprised me and it took a few moments to work out why that was. It was an item about child poverty in the United Kingdom and the fact that there are more children and their families living in absolute poverty now that there have ever been. Rural … Read more

This question is the one that most parents anticipate, but also dread. This time I am not looking at one’s beginnings from the procreation aspect, but literally, who I am and where I came from. There has been a series of programmes linked to well-known individuals discovering their roots(BBC 1 Who Am I?). Through carrying … Read more

One of the advantages of being self-employed is that I don’t have to race around each morning at 5.30, completing all the domestic tasks I had to do before setting out to the office to arrive for 9.00. Nowadays I get up around 7.30, take the dogs out, feed the cats and then the dogs, … Read more

These words used to strike a chill into my heart during my school holidays. Almost as soon as we had begun the seemingly never-ending summer vacation, we were brought down to earth with a bump. Every shop displayed this sign from July through to September. It reminded parents of the cost involved in sending their … Read more

Times Past A hundred years ago, when I was very young, my Mother always said the same things when I went out to play, “Don’t go anywhere other than where you said you are going”; “Don’t do anything you shouldn’t” and “Enjoy yourself”, in that order. I knew what time to come back. I knew … Read more

Most parents and early years practitioners will be familiar with the tantrum of a child at around the two-year level. It is that developmental period when the child is beginning to understand that life doesn’t revolve around them in the way they previously believed. They want to be able to put on their own clothes, … Read more

When I was a child, I loved the idea of having an adventure. I lived in the country in a time when it was acceptable for a child to remain away from their home for a full day without anyone getting overly concerned. I had freedom in a way that children of today don’t. One … Read more

There is a revolution in the Child Care Industry. It isn’t anything new, but its significance will become more apparent in the next few years. It is interesting how trends and legislation affect our views. At one time, this particular aspect of parent-carer alternative was decidedly the poor relation. I am talking about the work … Read more

This wasn’t the article I had planned to write for this month. I heard about Steve Biddulph’s book, Raising Babies*, which will be published by the time this particular article goes to press. He is a person of high reputation within the child care sector, but I must confess that I personally have never read … Read more

This is an exciting time to be working in the child care industry. There are suddenly so many challenges, changes and strategies which are either government-led or imposed by economy. I am pleased that there is a regular and constant review of the standards in child care qualifications in the UK. I welcome and endorse … Read more

by Valerie Jackson   Over the past ten or more years, there has been a dramatic shift in society’s perception of parents. Research indicates that the two most significant factors which have influenced children’s behaviour are : the high incidence of single parent families and the unwillingness or inability of parents to offer discipline and … Read more

Conflicting messages? Being a parent isn’t easy at the best of times. It’s even more confusing when there appear to be conflicting messages coming from those who lay down the rules by which we are expected to abide.