Bringing a new baby into the family should be a cause for celebration. However, despite both mum and dad being elated at a new addition to the family, their existing child/children may not be. Sometimes the birth of a sibling can be stressful for a child. An only child who has not yet had to share their parents may feel shoved out by the arrival of a new baby which demands a lot of time and attention and a child who already has a sibling will have to share mum and dad ‘again’ and will have less time with them.

In a child’s formative years play is a vital part of communication and learning. Making the most out of this important time for your child encourages the development of core physical, intellectual and social skills from as early as possible which gives them the best start in life. This developmental stage is defined as the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and is a recognised structure of learning from birth to five years of age. There is now an easy way to ensure your child is learning the EYFS way: by shopping for educational toys from DiscoverMe at http://www.discovermetoys.co.uk/.

Anyway a meltdown is not a tantrum the is well best way to describe it as a tornado. This tornado comes without warning , there is no reasoning of why it happens or how it starts. There is nothing you can do except ride it out and wait for it to calm down. This can be a few minutes to a few hours. Do you get the picture.

I have learnt that with autistic children you should always expect the unexpected and last night was a classic example.

Are our mathematical skills considered defunct when we become a parent? My son is a huge In The Night Garden fan although he thinks the pinky ponk is scary bless him so I have to avoid any episodes where the pinky ponk hits the trees and sends the Tombliboos sliding across the floor. Anyway the great news is that the night garden has come to London and they have ninky nonk shows and pinky ponk shows - what could be better? :) (there will be no guesses as to which show we opt for!)

Because babies are learning from the moment they are born, it’s important to ensure that play is both fun and educational. The DiscoverMe website (http://www.discovermetoys.co.uk/) stocks a vast range of top quality developmental and educational toys for pre-schoolers, most of which you can’t find on the high street. Through a wide network of the best pre-school toy manufacturers from around the world, DiscoverMe has brought together one of the finest selections of toys for 0-5 year olds available anywhere, and for some of the best prices possible.

When my beautiful daughter Sophia was born, I was surprised to see that she had a full head of hair. By the time she was a month old, her hair had grown so long that she constantly had hair in her eyes. I headed to my local shopping centre and bought her some small hair clips so I could clip her hair away from her eyes. However, I spent the next week clipping her hair back off her face as the clips would slide out due to her having such fine baby hair.

My biggest and only problem with this CD is the title. When I first saw it, I had visions of being transformed into a fabulously calm parent of “children” – aged about 6-8. I have changed the title in my own mind to “How to cope with those first few weeks of motherhood”. With this new
title, I can relax and enjoy the journey that Eleanor takes us on.

Most people purchase a playmat for their baby before any other toy, but many may not realize the important roles that these playmats play in their baby’s development. These humble objects have some vital benefits, including enhancing motor skills, developing head and neck control, providing a safe, soft and clean play area for your baby, developing intelligence and a sense of play and discovery. That’s why educational toys website DiscoverMe (http://www.discovermetoys.co.uk/) has a comprehensive range of playmats as part of its online collection.

I remember thinking this all the way through my pregnancy, and in the later weeks every little twinge made me think 'erk is this it'??

Helen Cockle is the owner of on line baby clothing store www.thelittlelegscompany.com and Mummy to 11 month old Daisy. Launched only 2 months ago, Helen has given up her well paid city job to spend her time running her own company. Family and Parenting magazine interviewed Helen last week to find out what inspried her to start her own business and what her ups ands downs have been so far.