Curriculum /

Parenting Blog

IT’S FLU SEASON! PLEASE READ THOROUGHLY TO PROTECT YOUR CHILD AND OTHERS!!

It is colds and coughs season! We are sure you don’t want your child to miss school and neither do you want to send a sick child to school to endanger him/her or others as well.

The question is WHEN SHOULD YOUR CHILD STAY AT HOME?

Here are a few guidelines we ask you to follow at Chubby Cheeks Nursery:

A runny nose is the way many children respond to dust, pollen or simply a change in season. If it isn’t a common cold, then it may be an allergy and allergies are not contagious. Don’t keep the child at home. REMIND YOUR CHILD TO USE TISSUE TO WIPE THEIR NOSE, DISCARD TISSUE, AND IMMEDIATELY WASH HANDS!
A bad cough or cold symptoms can indicate a severe cold, bronchitis or flu. If your child is not acting “right”, has difficulty breathing, or is becoming dehydrated, please check with your physician right away. Please keep your child at home. REMIND YOUR CHILD TO COVER COUGHS AND SNEEZES WITH THE BEND OF THEIR ARM/INNER ELBOW – IN THEIR SLEEVE!
Fever is an important symptom; when it occurs along with sore throat, an earache, nausea, or a rash, your child may be carrying something very contagious. PLEASE keep children home during the course of a fever and for an additional 24 hours after the fever has passed.
Diarrhea and vomiting make children very uncomfortable, and being near a bathroom becomes top priority. If your child has repeated episodes of diarrhea and/or vomiting accompanied by fever, a rash, or general weakness, consult a doctor and keep your child out of school until the illness passes.

To better serve you and your children please ensure that you have filled our emergency contact form details. If your child needs to take medication while at school, please meet the school nurse and fill and sign our Medication form. These forms are available at the school clinic.

TOO MUCH TOO SOON! ARE WE ENROLLING CHILDREN TOO EARLY IN SCHOOL?

Are we sending kids to school when they are too young? Parents facing the decision of whether to enrol their children in school or to wait a year should take note.

Recent research shows that kids who postponed school for a year showed dramatically higher levels of self-control than kids who enrolled earlier. Starting school too early creates a fear of learning and puts too much pressure on young children. According to a coalition of education experts, starting school too early causes a ‘damaging pressure’ on children to perform in class at a young age and this is causing ‘profound damage’ in a generation which is not encouraged to learn through play.

At Chubby Cheeks Nursery, we believe that the early years provide a crucial opportunity, when supported by well trained and professional care providers, for children to be children and that play is essential for children’s learning and development. At Chubby Cheeks Nursery, each area of learning and development is implemented through planned, purposeful play and through a mix of adult-led and child-initiated activities.

Through play, the children at Chubby Cheeks Nursery are able to explore and develop learning experiences which help them to make sense of the world around them, express themselves, process information, acquire knowledge and master skills.

During play, our children learn to:

Make choices and decisions
Use their own ideas, imagination and experiences
Explore and Experiment
Practise skills and learn new ones
Make sense of puzzling situations, events or equipment
Negotiate
Coordinate ideas and feelings, and make sense of relationships with their friends and families
Explore the world and overcome their fears and anxieties
Try out new behaviors and practise old ones
Exercise, develop and coordinate body, mind and brain
Adapt and transform knowledge, attitudes and skills
Follow an interest or line of inquiry
Become confident and enjoy challenges
Have fun with friends and/or familiar adults
Cooperate and learn group values
Be Curious, persistent and concentrate
Expand and challenge their physical skills
Respond to experiences with or without language

So, rest assured that if you have decided to enroll your child in school at a later age and keep him/her in nursery for a longer time, you have taken the best decision for your child’s learning and development!

How much sleep your toddler needs? What is a good bedtime routine?

Toddlers need 10-12 hours sleep a night. Most toddlers can do with an hour or two of sleep in the middle of the day as well. But getting them to bed in the first place can be a challenge. A firm and consistent bedtime routine will be a big help.

Try these tips:

Avoid boisterous play before bedtime as this makes it harder for your child to settle
Turn off the TV, computers and tablets an hour before bedtime, and avoid letting your child watch scary or exciting things close to bedtime.
Choose calming activities like reading a book with your child, listening to soft music, singing nursery rhymes

Most importantly, follow the same routine every night so your toddler knows what to expect. This will help your child feel more relaxed and fall asleep more easily.

Children and Technology – How much screen time is too much?

Screen time is any time a child spends looking at an electronic screen, including watching videos and television shows, playing video games, and interacting with smartphones, tablets, and computers.

Too much screen time can be harmful to children. High technology use has been linked to shorter attention span, aggressive behavior, poor social skills and more. Yet there is no denying that technology has become a large part of parenting these days. How much screen time is too much though?

For many parents. rules for limiting or prohibiting screen time can be hard to enforce. Here are three tips which we have called "the three C's" to help you decide when screen time is okay:

Content: What is my child watching or playing with? Can he/she understand what he’s/she's doing or potentially learn from it?
Context: What has my child's day been like so far? Have we talked and interacted a lot, or has he/she been plugged in for hours?
The individual Child: Is it a difficult time of day during which a little time on his/her own with a screen would be soothing or helpful to my kid?

We hope that thinking about ‘the three C's’ in the moment when you're trying to decide whether to let your child play with a tablet or watch a show, helps you make better and more mindful choices.

Tips for helping your child to develop healthy eating habits at a young age

Eat breakfast - Eating breakfast kick starts the body and makes it easier to maintain lasting energy throughout the day.
Choose healthy snacks - Keep cupboards stocked with healthy snacks such as fruits, unsalted nuts and unsweetened yoghurt.
Drink water - Make water the drink of choice at meal times and keep juice and sweet drinks as occasional treats.
Eat together - Encourage your child to eat regular meals at the table with you rather than having dinner in front of the TV
Be creative - Offer your child colourful snacks of different fruits or chop vegetables into interesting shapes to make them seem more fun.

It is not always easy to encourage your child to eat a healthy balanced diet but we hope these tips will help out.

Holiday Time with the Family

Holidays are a good time to strengthen our connections and renew relationships. So turn off cell phones and computers and take time to focus on your family. Here are a few ideas you can try to spend time with your family.

Family game night. Spend at least one night with the TV off and the family huddled together to play a favorite game.
Go for a walk or play outdoors together. It will give the entire family some fresh air, exercise and great fun.
Movie night. Pop some popcorn and kick back for some family fun with a nice family movie.
Cook together. Parents and kids can bake and prepare food together. Even the youngest child can wash vegetables or set the table.
Spend some one-on-one time with your child. Spending time alone provides time to bond with the child and helps him/her gain a sense of belonging and feeling of importance.

One of the greatest gifts of the holidays is the gift of time with family. Spend time together to strengthen relationships and to make wonderful family memories. Strong families spend time with each other - quality time in large quantities. So begin during the holidays and continue making time for each other throughout the year.

Toddlers and Animal Friends – Teaching your child to respect animals

Teaching kids to have compassion and empathy for their animal friends is vital for preventing cruelty to animals as well as in raising them to respect and treat those who are different from them with kindness.

Here are few tips in helping to teach your child to respect animals:

Take your child to a shelter – Visit an animal shelter and spend few hours every month or so playing with abandoned pets or giving them some care
Visit a zoo or a farm – In zoos and farms, animals enjoy a simulated natural habitat and this can help your kids learn more about how animals live.
Read books about animals - Books that feature a child and an animal being friends can help your child develop empathy and respect for animals.
Watch movies about animals - Finding Nemo, Bambi and Free Willy are a few movies among others that help kids learn to love animals
Consider getting a pet - If you have the space, the time and the inclination, consider bringing home a pet. Your child will learn to love and care for the animal like another member of your family.