Written by Charlotte Hall, Speech Therapy with Charlotte. Speech and language development is so important because it really underpins everything else. If a child is unable to express themselves or understand what others are saying, they will find it difficult to thrive academically, form meaningful relationships and achieve positive mental wellbeing.

But what can we do to support young children’s speech and language development?

Written by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. Has your child recently moved from a cot to a bed, and now keeps getting up to come and find you? This can be a very common situation that parents find themselves in and often a child can go from sleeping well in their cot to being awake several times per night and refusing to stay in their bed!

Written by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. This is something which parents and carers dread! Dealing with sickness and/or diarrhoea is never something which we enjoy, but it is something which can come part and parcel with little ones.

Sickness and diarrhoea is common in children and adults. It can often be triggered due to a stomach bug, and sickness can normally last between 24-48 hours. The symptoms of diarrhoea can sometimes last for 5-7 days.

Written by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. Hay fever is a reaction to pollen which happens when pollen comes into contact with the mouth, nose, eyes or throat. Pollen from trees, grass and flowers can cause irritation, and in some cases make your little one feel quite poorly. Hay fever typically affects individuals between March and September and this can be when the pollen count is at its highest.

Written by Cheryl Bedding, Aperion SEND Training and Consultancy. When we think of a child with additional needs, challenging behaviours, special needs or delayed development what do we think? Do we think what can we learn from them, how fascinating, how amazing to see the world differently from everyone else, how can they enhance my life? Probably not. It’s more likely that we think or see barriers, we see problems, we see how this will affect the way we work, the time we need to give for support, the possible referrals process and the challenges the child will be facing.

Written by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. Resilience is the skill of ‘bouncing back’ when you come up against tricky times, challenges, or stress. It is not something that you do or don’t have, it is something which is learnt, practiced, and strengthened over time. Our children have to learn resilience starting from a very young age and this is often developed (and experienced) through their play.

Written by Alina Lynden, ERIC, The Children’s Bowel and Bladder Charity. Stool withholding and delaying emptying the bladder are both issues which can cause a huge amount of stress and confusion to families, but help is out there. In this blog I explain why withholding can happen, the effect it can have on your child's body and behaviour and what you can do to help them to relax and feel more positive about going to the loo.

Written by Muddy Puddles. Do you love the outdoors but want some inspiration about fun things to do as a family this Spring? Check out these top 10 ideas from Muddy Puddles!

Written by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. Has your child suddenly started to say, “I’m scared!”, “I don’t like the dark”, or “I’m scared of the dark”? If so, please be reassured that this is a very normal phase of development and can be experienced by lots of children, their parents and carers. Most often the biggest impact of this can be around bedtimes where little ones are typically on their own and it is dark. This sense of fear can have an impact on sleep, bedtimes or even cause waking in the night.

Written by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. Trying to get your little one into a car seat can often require a great deal of patience and negotiation at times! This can leave us feeling hugely frustrated, especially when we are in a hurry!

In this blog I look at why this might be happening and what things you can do to help the situation.