It’s easier and often quicker for adults to take the lead in getting toddlers and under-five children dressed, fed, washed and suchlike. However, at some point, our little ones have to become confident and self-sufficient at doing these – and many other things – themselves. After all, they won’t have Mum or Dad around when they’re starting at school. So, today, we look at the ways we can help children under five help themselves and become more independent, including in their learning. First, though, let’s look at the many benefits of encouraging their independence.
The Benefits of Independence to Under-Fives
The benefits of young children learning to become more independent include a whole host of both short- and long-term examples. As well as helping to equip under-fives with many of the tools required for a seamless transition to school, the benefits include:
Increased self-esteem: Children feel a sense of accomplishment when they are able to do things on their own. This can give a healthy boost to their self-esteem.- A greater sense of autonomy: Children who are able to do things independently feel more in control of their own lives and have a stronger sense of autonomy.
- Improved social skills: Children who are able to do things independently are often more confident in social situations. This can often can lead to improved social skills.
- Improved relationships with peers: Children who are able to interact with others independently are more likely to form positive relationships with their peers, often leading to a better overall school experience.
- Improved communication skills: Children who are able to express their thoughts and feelings independently may learn to communicate more readily with others.
- Enhanced creativity: As children learn to play independently, they have more opportunities to explore and discover on their own. In turn, this can often foster opportunities for greater creativity and self-expression.
- Better self-management skills: Children who are used to taking care of themselves and making their own decisions are better able to manage their own learning and behaviour. This is important, particularly once they move on to a school setting. Studies published in the Journal of Educational Psychology have highlighted better grades and higher levels of achievement in this regard.
- Greater confidence: Children who are independent and confident in their abilities are more likely to feel comfortable participating in class and asking for help when they need it. This is incredibly important.
- Enhanced problem-solving skills: Children who are independent and able to think for themselves are better able to tackle new challenges and problem-solve, for example when faced with obstacles or problems.
- Improved ability to handle stress: Children who are independent and able to take care of themselves are better able to handle stress and cope with challenges.
- A greater sense of responsibility: Children who are able to do things independently may more easily learn to take responsibility for their own actions and decisions. Learning from one’s own mistakes is also one of life’s most important lessons.
- Enhanced self-regulation skills: Children who are able to regulate their own behaviour and emotions are better able to focus and therefore to learn.
- Improved physical coordination: Children who practise doing things independently, such as dressing themselves or tying their shoe laces, will naturally improve physical coordination and motor skills.
- Enhanced cognitive skills: Exploring and discovering independently can help children develop cognitive skills including enhanced memory and concentration.
- Enhanced emotional intelligence: Children who are able to express their feelings and emotions independently are more likely to develop skills associated with emotional intelligence.
Increased self-esteem: Children feel a sense of accomplishment when they are able to do things on their own. This can give a healthy boost to their self-esteem.
Better self-management skills: Children who are used to taking care of themselves and making their own decisions are better able to manage their own learning and behaviour. This is important, particularly once they move on to a school setting. Studies published in the Journal of Educational Psychology have highlighted better grades and higher levels of achievement in this regard.
A greater sense of responsibility: Children who are able to do things independently may more easily learn to take responsibility for their own actions and decisions. Learning from one’s own mistakes is also one of life’s most important lessons.Studies have shown that learning to be more independent can positively impact children’s brain development, help them to develop important life skills and even lead to them achieving higher grades at school.
How to Help Under-Fives be More Independent
Now we’ve looked at the benefits, here are our top suggestions for how to help children become more independent:
- Encourage self-care skills: Help children learn how to dress themselves, brush their own teeth, and wash their own hands. These tasks may take longer at first, but children will feel proud when they learn to do them independently. (Look out for more detailed posts about some of these tasks on the blog).
- Encourage exploration: Create a safe environment where children can explore and make their own discoveries. This helps them learn to problem-solve, assess risk and make decisions.
- Encourage independence during play: Children learn best through play, so give them the opportunity to play independently. This helps them to learn, develop their own interests and gather new skills in their own, natural way.
- Encourage children to express their feelings: Teach children how to express their thoughts and feelings in appropriate ways. This is healthy and also helps them feel confident and independent.
- Provide opportunities for children to make their own decisions: Give children small choices and let them choose what they want to do. This helps them feel a sense of control, encourages independence and builds confidence. A good example is allowing them to choose what they want to wear.
- Encourage children to try new things: Encouraging children to (safely) try new activities and challenge themselves helps them to discover new passions and perhaps new hobbies. While doing so, it will build confidence and independence.
- Encourage children to take on small responsibilities: Give children small tasks to complete, such as setting the table or helping to clear up after a meal. This helps them feel a sense of responsibility and independence.
- Encourage children to problem-solve: When children encounter challenges, encourage them to think through the problem and find a solution on their own. This helps them develop independence and problem-solving skills.
- Be patient and supportive: Encourage children’s independence at a pace that is comfortable for them. Be patient and offer support and encouragement as they learn to do things on their own.
- Set realistic expectations: Children are still developing their skills and abilities, so be realistic about what they can do independently.
- Provide a safe environment: Children need to feel safe in order to explore and try new things independently. Create a safe environment where children can take small risks, make mistakes and learn from them.
- Encourage children to ask for help: Encourage children to ask for help when it’s needed, but also encourage them to try to solve problems on their own first.
- Encourage children to be self-sufficient: Encourage children to do things on their own, such as packing their own lunch or getting dressed without assistance. This helps them feel more self-sufficient and independent.
- Encourage children to express their opinions: Help children feel confident in expressing their opinions and ideas. Encourage them to speak up and share their thoughts.
- Encourage children to set goals: Encourage children to set goals for themselves, which they can work towards achieving. This helps them develop independence and a sense of accomplishment. Learning to progress towards milestones one step at at time is an important life lesson.
- Encourage children to be independent learners: Encourage children to explore and learn to love learning. Doing so will help them become more independent and studies show that independent learners generally go on to achieve more.
Encourage self-care skills: Help children learn how to dress themselves, 
Provide opportunities for children to make their own decisions: Give children small choices and let them choose what they want to do. This helps them feel a sense of control, encourages independence and builds confidence. A good example is allowing them to choose what they want to wear.
Set realistic expectations: Children are still developing their skills and abilities, so be realistic about what they can do independently.As the huge list of benefits suggests, encouraging independence in children can have a hugely positive impact on children. Most importantly, it can really help them in the development of a wide range of important life skills. These will serve them well as they transition to school and far beyond.
Are You Looking for the Best Nursery or Pre-School in Streatham?
Excellent childcare services in Streatham from Little Cedars Nursery
If you are looking to give your baby, toddler or preschooler the best start in life, you’ll need a high quality childcare and ‘early years’ provider. Little Cedars nursery and pre-school in Streatham provides a high quality childcare service where staff support the happy children to achieve their full potential in life and in readiness for the transition to school. The nursery is a safe, warm and welcoming home-from-home for little ones, who are nurtured and looked after by caring, high quality staff. The setting and location may also suit families who live or work nearby in Streatham Hill, Streatham Park, Streatham Common and Furzedown or Tooting, Tooting Bec, Tooting Broadway, Tooting Common, Balham, Norbury and Colliers Wood.
Register your baby, toddler or preschooler for a place today, or feel free to ask us any questions. Please choose a button below to get started:
In today’s post, we explore the benefits of using positive language around under-fives. All too often, it’s tempting to say ‘No!’, ‘Stop that!’ or even ‘Don’t Eat That!’ and similar around little ones. This is particularly true when you want them to cease the offending activity urgently or are simply exhausted if it’s been a challenging day. There are good reasons for such negative commands, of course, not least that of their safety in many cases. However, such commands can sound stern and cause stress for the little ones. What’s more, if a child hears too much negative language and cannot understand why they’re not allowed to do a particular thing, problems can begin to arise and, indeed, the issue can become insidious. It may even result in worsening behaviour. Let’s explore, therefore, the issues around negative language and the simple solution that’s available in the form of positive language.
Sometimes, though, constantly hearing ‘no’ can spark tantrums, particularly if a child doesn’t understand the reason they are not allowed to do something. They can feel particularly frustrated when they receive a succession of negative commands and, in the end, may feel they simply can’t do anything right. This can lead not only to stress for them, but also to possible low self-esteem. Furthermore, if they hear ‘no’ and other negative language too often, they can begin to ‘tune out’ to it. They could then go on to develop challenging behaviour due to this, their confusion and frustration. Stress levels can then rise for the parent too, the infant can pick up on this and it can become a real vicious circle. It doesn’t have to be that way, though …
Stop shouting!
Please use a much softer voice.
Today’s post will appeal to families who are finding the current financial climate particularly challenging. With energy costs and inflation so high, the following may represent a welcome piece of good news. Today we highlight the many Baby Banks that are popping up all around the UK and explain how they can help struggling families, all for free.
A Baby bank is a similar concept to a food bank. However, instead of food and drink, it provides second-hand clothing, toys and equipment for babies, under-fives and often even for children up to the age of 16 in some cases. Baby Banks can also be compared to a charity shop, however, with baby banks, everything is free.
Baby Banks are run by all sorts of different people and organisations and therefore the rules around actually getting ones hands on the free items vary from Baby Bank to Baby Bank. Some accept requests for items directly from families themselves. Others only deal via a referral from some kind of professional. Examples include social workers, family support agencies, teachers, family centres, health visitors, medical professionals, food banks and women’s refuges. So, once you have located your nearest Baby Bank, you will need to check whether they will deal with you directly or only through such a referral. Either way, you will usually need to agree a time and date for collection of your item with the Baby Bank (you can’t usually just turn up, although there are exceptions). Not all Baby Banks are open all week and that’s another reason to check with Baby Banks or their websites first.
Absolutely! Baby Banks rely on the generous donations from families that no long require their baby clothes or equipment. Perhaps the child has grown out of them and the items are still in good condition, or perhaps they were an unwanted gift. Donating items is also a great way to declutter and to make space in the home, as well as helping others. However, before donating to a Baby Bank, always check with them to see if all your proposed items are required and, as before, ensure you know whether an appointment is needed or whether you can just turn up with your items. Certain rules may also apply around the condition and type of items (this varies depending upon which Baby Bank you are dealing with). Baby car seats and electronic items may also have special rules due to the extra safety considerations.
A nature-based, food-related activity that young children can enjoy indoors at any time of the year is cress growing. Today we outline how it can be made even more fun and creative for kids by growing the cress as little ‘egg heads’. These come complete with comical faces and amusing hairstyles made of green cress shoots! Children will absolutely love it when they end up with little egg faces with spouting hairstyles that each have real character. And, they’ll even be able to eat the results!
Cress is Easy to Grow, & Tasty!
Growing Cress for Small Kids and Big Kids
Next, find a vessel to prop the egg shells up in. This could simply be an egg cup or even an egg carton, like that shown in the photo. Then, decide what to fill the empty egg shells with. Children can choose either damp kitchen roll or damp compost/soil to grow the cress seeds on. Carefully fill the empty egg shells almost to the top with the chosen filler. (We tried both and each grew well. Interestingly, the cress seeds grown on kitchen roll tissue paper grew a little faster and therefore taller than those grown on compost. They therefore looked a bit more ‘wild’ — it was quite a surprise and had an amusing impact on the egg-people’s hairstyles).
Make sure you or your child add some funny faces on the shells — maybe even give them names. The faces can be drawn simply using a marker pen (Sharpies are ideal) or you can get even more creative using coloured paints. Children may find drawing the faces easier if they are shown some visual reference and perhaps they can practise first on paper. If too young to draw suitable faces, a parent or creative older sibling may be able to help.
Within a week or so, the little egg heads should begin to sprout green ‘hair’ shoots!
Are you a student as well as a parent? If so, there are several Government schemes that offer help with childcare costs, some of which will save student parents substantial amounts of money. By doing so, they also make the prospect of juggling parenthood with being a student much more manageable. Today we examine the key childcare funding options, including how the type of course and the age of the parent affect eligibility.
The very generous Student Childcare Grant is available for eligible students who who are studying full-time on a higher education course and have dependent children aged 14 or under (16 or under if they have special needs).
If you are aged 20 or over, are a parent studying in further education for a qualification on a Level 3 course or below and are facing financial hardship, you may be eligible for childcare funding under the Learner Support scheme. This funding could help you with childcare and other study-related costs if you fit the right eligibility criteria.
If you are a parent as well as a student aged under 20 when you begin one of a range of publicly-funded courses in England, you may be eligible for childcare funding through the Care to Learn bursary scheme. If eligible, you could claim as much as £175 in childcare per week, per child if you live in London, reducing to £160 per week, per child, outside London.
Both children and adults have a natural affinity with music. It’s one of life’s simple pleasures that just about everyone seems to enjoy in one way or another. Children will naturally start to move, dance, join in or even learn songs that they hear — such reactions seem instinctive to them. Learning to play a musical instrument is therefore a natural next step for them. Indeed, it’s one that parents, guardians and carers should consider encouraging, particularly given how beneficial such an endeavour will be to their child. Learning to play a musical instrument is not simply fun; it profoundly benefits children’s learning and development. With that in mind, we take a look today at the incredible array of benefits that learning a musical instrument poses for children, including under-fives.
Studies have also shown that learning an instrument or learning how to read music develops the left side of the brain. This area is responsible for processing language and reasoning. Hand-eye coordination skills are also aided when learning to play a musical instrument and reading music. As children’s playing and reading become more advanced, it requires the brain to work at a range of speeds, which is also great exercise for the brain.
Music gives children a really flexible way of expressing themselves. For instance, the way they choose to bang on a drum, shake a tambourine or strum a guitar can allow them to show happiness, anger, frustration, calmness and many other emotions. Playing a musical instrument gives them a real freedom of expression, even at a very young age. Then, if they reach a point where they are able to make up their own melodies and arrangements, music can become an almost immeasurably powerful tool for self-expression and communication.
Although playing an instrument is creative, music and maths are very much intertwined. Beats, rhythms and scales are all based on maths and children naturally need to work out some maths in order to understand the song and any sheet music. This will naturally help them to better grasp mathematics and illustrate a real-world example of how it underlies many things.
Whether your child is listening to a tutor, teacher, friend or relative, listening skills are very important. Music is a natural way to encourage listening and that’s even more true when children learn to play music themselves. Doing so in their early years will help them to follow instructions, listen out for smaller details as well as the bigger picture. Working together on a piece of music is also a fantastic way to hone group listening skills and teamwork and to encourage collaboration.
Indeed, music helps to support all 7 focus areas of 
When children master a song, no matter how basic, they get an enormous sense of achievement and even more so if they are praised by adults and peers. Such praise also encourages the child to progress further, of course. Boosting self-esteem and self-confidence in their early years is important for their future wellbeing too. Achieving something through learning, patience and practising regularly also teaches them that persistence and effort will help them overcome challenges. That’s a very important lesson in life.
Little ones can first practise keeping in time to music or a beat that an adult is demonstrating, perhaps. Maracas are also good starter instruments although, again, anything that makes a shaking sound can be made at home at zero cost. For instance using an empty carton or plastic container securely sealed with dried rice, pasta or lentils inside. Once they get the hang of such percussive or shaker-style instruments, you can consider transitioning them to more advanced instruments like recorders, ocarinas, keyboards, stringed instruments and so on. Often, children will be more than willing to give such instruments a try and some encouragement and guidance from knowledgeable adults or older children will always be helpful. And, who knows, they could end up being maestros and even stars in the making!
A childcare nursery should not be thought of only as a crèche, playgroup, or simply somewhere that looks after babies and children while parents go to work. Good nurseries and pre-schools like Little Cedars are so much more than that. It’s incredible just how much they benefit under-fives, families and society as a whole once you take a closer look at everything they do — and that’s exactly what we’re doing today…
What’s more, staff at childcare settings like Little Cedars will form close bonds with little ones. Studies show that 
Good Ofsted-registered nurseries/pre-schools like Little Cedars also give under-fives a full early years education. That’s important to know. Through a learning and development programme that’s customised to each individual child, we ensure they achieve their own personal bests in all areas of the statutory 
Part of children’s personal, social and emotional development comes through active play with other children that they meet and get to know at the nursery. This is firstly great fun, of course, and that’s a hugely important part of any happy childhood. However, they’ll also learn many things through play. Without socialising with others, it would be more difficult to improve social skills, for example. Only by being around other children will they learn to account for the feelings of others, learn to respect one another and ultimately form close bonds, trust and friendships. Many such friendships will indeed continue long afterwards, as children move to schools at the age of five.
Another key aim of good early years childcare provision is to prepare children thoroughly for school. Why? Because 
It’s almost as if children are super-charged for success — the benefits of a good early years education are surprisingly long lasting. Some studies even show that the benefits last into people’s working lives, improving salaries (
Working so closely with babies, toddlers and preschoolers allows us to continually monitor their individual progress. In so doing, we are in a prime position to spot any issues early and to make appropriate arrangements to mitigate them if needed. For example, we may spot that a child is finding reading challenging. If so, we can put extra effort and time into improving the situation for the child. On occasion, that may even include talking to parents about the possible intervention of a specialist of some kind, or it could simply be that they need to practise specific activities to overcome the issue. The earlier challenges or any special educational or developmental needs are spotted, the sooner the child in question can be helped.
We have a huge outdoor area for children at Little Cedars Nursery, Streatham. Parents express their surprise when they first see it, regularly commenting that it’s much larger than the outdoor areas of other nurseries and pre-schools in the area. Our extensive outdoor play areas are also packed full of fun, educational play equipment and facilities that our under-five children absolutely adore. That includes areas and facilities set up especially for particular age groups.
The outdoor ‘mud kitchen’ is a particular hit with children at the nursery. They can enjoy creating in the sand play and water play areas too. These are fun and educational activities — 
As you can see from some of the photographs, the nursery’s extensive outdoor areas include both open-air and undercover areas. That means children can play and explore whatever the weather. Outdoor play is good for children, teaching them some things that simply can’t be taught indoors, so it’s wonderful that many of the outdoor facilities can be used all-year-round.
Outdoor play at Little Cedars Nursery also supports the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum. Learning through outdoor play teaches children so much and in a natural way. Outdoor play supports such areas as communication & language, physical development, personal, social and emotional development and understanding the world. Many such lessons come naturally as children play with one another and interact together via outdoor activities.
Such staff will continuously identify the individual interests and needs of each child and ensure that the learning and development activities they access will benefit them in the optimum ways. The idea is to further strengthen existing areas where children are strong, while bolstering children’s skills in areas that may require extra focus.
Bilateral coordination is an important skill for children to master and is something that parents should look out for as children develop in their early years. Today we look at the topic, explaining what it is, why it’s important and how mastery of the skill benefits little ones.
You may also hear reference to the phrase crossing the midline and this is also linked to bilateral coordination. It refers to a person reaching across their body, from one side to the opposite side, in order to complete a task. An example would be a child reaching with their right hand, across their body, to pick up a toy that’s to their left. Crossing the midline in such a way is a significant step because it demonstrates that infants have progressed from naturally using the side of their body nearest the object to using a dominant or preferred side. This may be the first indication parents have of whether their child is going to be left- or right-handed.
uncoordinated and will struggle with a variety of physical tasks.
Reciprocal bilateral coordination: this is where both sides of the body form a rhythmic motion but the movements on each side alternate. Examples include walking, swimming and cycling.
Mastery of bilateral coordination requires children to develop and fine-tune three types of motor skill:
Threading beads on a string, or string through holes punched though paper or card;
Play-doh — squeezing and rolling it, including use of tools to shape it;
These are just a few examples. Any age-appropriate game or activity is likely to help improve bilateral coordination so long as it requires precise, measured movements and coordination of both sides of the body. It’s a case of the child practising over time, often through play, until a particular physical outcome has been mastered. Progress is particularly easy to see in babies and infants as they gradually become more physically able, dextrous, strong and coordinated.
Independent feedback from other parents is worth its weight in gold. In the last five years, Little Cedars has received only 5-star reviews on Google and Facebook. That’s top marks, consistently for 5 years running.* Comments that accompanied these independent reviews were equally compelling — here are just a few examples:
Little Cedars is a warm, welcoming and nurturing environment. To the babies and children, it very much becomes a home-from-home where they feel safe, valued, cared for and all with wonderful, close relationships with both peers and our childcare professionals. It’s also a place of immense fun where little ones are happy, stimulated and nurtured in order to bring out the best in them.
Little Cedars Nursery is extremely well resourced and equipped, both inside and out. 
If your 2-year-old is eligible for the Government’s free childcare scheme for this age group, rest assured that Little Cedars Day Nursery supports them and this can potentially give your little one 15 free hours of childcare per week for as many as 38 weeks of the year. That’s 570 free childcare hours per year for your 2-year-old!
A Key Person is assigned to each child at Little Cedars Nursery. This is an early years practitioner who ensures that the child’s needs are being catered for and that their care at the setting is tailored to them as an individual. They help children settle in when they first join the nursery and build strong relationships with both the child and the parents. They are therefore usually the natural and key point of contact at the nursery.
We have a very special team at Little Cedars Nursery. Every one of them has been hand picked to ensure they are the perfect fit for the nursery and for the children therein. They’re warm, natural carers who will form wonderful relationships with children and bring out the very best in them. They become the children’s safe, familiar and friendly faces at the setting as well as facilitating top-notch learning and early years education. They also ensure every child is happy and is having fun whilst under our care.
At Little Cedars we do so much more than simply look after babies, toddlers and under-fives. We educate and nurture them too. In fact, we ensure that our little ones achieve personal bests in all 7 areas of 