As your daughter grows from a newborn to a pre-school toddler she will develop at a faster rate than at any other stage in her life. You will want to cuddle her and feed her, to show her the exciting world she is learning about and, in the early days, to sleep! You will face many choices and take many decisions from when to wean her to whether she should go to nursery, perhaps whether you should or could return to work and how to prepare her for when she goes to school. There are many sources of support for you: family and friends, health professionals, books, magazines and, of course, the internet. Try not to get overwhelmed, remember than generations of children have grown up despite as well as because of their parents! Trust your instincts, as her parent you have a head start on everyone else and above all enjoy these early years as they fly by.
Q. How can I make my 4 year old daughter more independent of me at nursery drop-off time? A. Before your daughter starts at nursery be sure to give her plenty of reassurance. You could start the process of enabling her to...
Q. How can I find out if my 3 year old is gifted and should I be doing anything about it? She speaks in long, complex sentences and is interested in concepts such as space, the Egyptians and the Victorians. She can recogn...
Montessori is the world’s largest education movement. There are 22,000 schools worldwide and 600 here in the UK. It was inspired by an Italian doctor, Maria Montessori (1870-1952). She was a true pioneer of child-centr...
The Early Years education continues to receive considerable media attention. Talk of a “toddler curriculum” with goals and targets contributes to parents’ anxiety about how and where their young children should begi...
Don’t obsess about her development or progress; every child is different and we’ve yet to see a bride in nappies! Admire everything she creates! Try to avoid saying “what’s this supposed to be?” just ask he...
Read other families experiences of raising and educating girls. How did they research, debate and decide on the best school for their daughters? Was it the right choice for their daughter and how do they know? Read the real-life stories…
Read our experts’ replies to those questions that every parent asks. Our “agony aunts” draw on their experience as parents, teachers and Heads to offer suggestions, explanations and solutions