A Rough Guide for Parents
Becoming a parent brings a mix of excitement, questions, and, quite often, a level of uncertainty. However, if you’re starting a family, you’re not on your own. One professional you’ll hear from early on is a health visitor. However, many parents aren’t sure exactly what they do or how they can help. The good news is that, essentially, health visitors are there to support you and your child. It’s also important to understand that they are not there to judge you. Instead, health visitors play an important role in helping families feel informed, confident, and well-supported during their child’s early years.
In this guide, we’ll explain exactly what a health visitor does, when families will see them, and how they can support parents and children from birth and throughout the early years.
What Is a Health Visitor?
A health visitor is a qualified nurse or midwife who has completed additional specialist training in child health, development, and family wellbeing. Each family will have a named health visitor allocated to them.
In the UK, health visitors work as part of the NHS and support families from pregnancy through to when their child is around five years old. Their role focuses not just on a child’s physical health, but also on their development, emotional wellbeing, and, just as importantly, the overall health and wellbeing of the family.
What is the Role of the Health Visitor?
Health visitors support families in a wide range of practical and emotional ways. Their role is varied, but at its heart, it’s about the health and wellbeing of the whole family. For the mums and dads they visit at home, they are firstly there to help them adjust to becoming new parents. They will offer guidance, answer questions, and provide support and reassurance, which are so crucial during the early stages of parenthood when everything can feel so new. For babies and young children, they are there to facilitate the best possible start in life.
Health visitors are also well-connected, working closely with other groups, children’s centres, and professionals. As such, they’re well-placed to identify when additional support might be helpful and guide you towards other services and resources that can help families and their little ones.
When Will a Health Visitor Visit?
New parents usually have contact with a health visitor at several key points during their child’s early years. These may include:
- An antenatal visit (before your baby is born)
- A new birth visit (around 10–14 days after birth)
- A 6–8 week review
- A 9–12 month review*
- A 2 to 2½ year review*
* The health visitor, or a member of their support team, will also give families an ‘Ages & Stages Questionnaire’ (‘ASQ-3’) before the two reviews indicated. Usefully, these give families the opportunity to undertake some of the home-based activities referenced in the questionnaire, thereby allowing them to provide appropriate feedback later at the in-person reviews. That said, if there are any areas of the questionnaire that parents are unable to complete confidently, the health visitor can help. For children attending nursery, playgroup, or childcare at the time of the 2 to 2½ year review, it’s also possible that a childminder or childcare keyworker will help with input in addition to the health visitor.
Families are also able to contact their health visiting team at any time, including between scheduled visits, if they have any questions or concerns.
Learn more about what the various health and development reviews entail here.
What Happens During a Health Visitor Appointment?
Health visitor appointments are typically relaxed and informal. They are often carried out in the comfort of the family home, or sometimes at a local clinic, depending on the area and the stage the family/child are at.
During a visit, your health visitor will ask how you and your baby or child are doing. They’ll talk to you and offer advice about your child’s feeding (breastfeeding, bottle feeding, weening, etc.), sleep (including safe sleep positions and common sleep challenges), vaccinations, and daily routines. They’ll observe your child in the home setting and are likely to carry out basic measurements, for example, to record your child’s weight, growth, height, and head circumference. They’ll also check your child’s development, such as movement, communication, and social interaction. They can offer guidance on behaviour as your child grows. They may offer advice on home safety and accident prevention too. For you as parents, they’ll also be there to support your mental health and emotional wellbeing. Importantly, they will, of course, also answer any questions you may have. The aim is to provide tailored support, open conversations and reassurance where families need it.
Will Health Visitors Judge You?
It’s a common worry, but no, health visitors are not there to judge your parenting, and there is no “test” for you to pass during a visit. Their role is not to assess you but instead to support families and help their children thrive. Should you ever be unsure or worried about something, being open with your health visitor will help them support you more effectively. They also understand that every family is different, so there is no single “right” way to do things.
So, while health visitors do have a responsibility to ensure children are safe and well cared for, for the vast majority of families, visits are simply about offering guidance, reassurance, and invaluable, practical help. For many parents, this can make a real difference.
The Red Book
We mentioned earlier that the health visitor is likely to record metrics like your child’s weight and height. Such information is recorded in a little red book. Officially called a Personal Child Health Record (‘PCHR’), this is more commonly referred to as ‘The Red Book’. It’s a useful place to record metrics and milestones in your child’s development. Health visitors and other professionals, like GPs, can write in it — as well as parents. It’s the perfect place to record a child’s milestones, medical history, details of any vaccinations and tests your child has had, and so on. Take it with you whenever you visit a GP, baby clinic, or other healthcare/medical setting with your child.
When Should You Contact a Health Visitor?
You don’t need to wait for your next scheduled visit if something is on your mind. For example, you might want to contact your health visitor if:
- You have concerns about feeding
- Your baby or child is struggling with sleep
- You’re unsure about your child’s development
- You’ve noticed changes in behaviour
- You’re feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or low
Reaching out early can often provide reassurance or help you address small concerns before they become bigger worries.
Supporting Your Child’s Development Together
Alongside the support of your health visitor, a nurturing nursery environment can play an important role in your child’s development — nurturing new skills and helping them grow in confidence, communication, and independence. If you’d like to learn more about how Little Cedars Day Nursery supports children and families, feel free to get in touch or peruse more of this website. Whether you have a quick question or a more complex concern, we are here to support both you and your child every step of the way.
A Childcare Place at Little Cedars Nursery, Streatham
Little Cedars Nursery, in Streatham, offers a fabulous start for babies and children under five. We provide an all-year-round weekday childcare service in a warm, welcoming environment. At Little Cedars Nursery, every child is valued and nurtured, so they become the very best version of themselves in readiness to begin school. The high-quality childcare setting has a good Ofsted rating and supports free childcare hours for eligible children aged from just 9 months. We’re located in Streatham, near Streatham Common, Streatham Hill, Streatham Park, Tooting, Furzedown, Balham, Norbury, and Colliers Wood.
To get started on a nursery application for your child, or to find out more, please choose an option below:
At first glance, this devotion to a single story might seem puzzling. As adults, we crave novelty and variation, and it’s tempting to encourage children to explore new titles or gently steer them towards something ‘different’. But this desire for repetition is not only entirely normal for infants, toddlers and preschoolers — it’s actually a sign of healthy development. In fact, there’s a great deal happening beneath the surface every time your child requests a beloved book for the umpteenth time.
There is also an emotional component to repeated reading. When a child hears a favourite story in the voice of a parent or trusted adult, it creates a strong sense of connection. The warmth, tone and rhythm of familiar words spoken by someone they love reinforce a feeling of safety and belonging. For many children, this shared experience becomes part of their routine, and returning to a much-loved story can offer comfort in moments of transition, tiredness or uncertainty.
One of the clearest benefits of repeated reading is vocabulary development. Hearing the same words and phrases over time helps children internalise them. This is especially important when books introduce new or more complex language than a child might hear in everyday conversation. By encountering those words again and again in a familiar context, children begin to understand them more deeply and even start to use them in their own speech. The rhythm and rhyme found in many favourite books further support this by making the language more memorable and easier to imitate.
At home, parents or carers can support this by continuing to follow a child’s lead. If your child keeps choosing the same book, that’s a good thing — it means they’re connecting with it. You can enhance the experience by reading with enthusiasm, pausing to let your child fill in familiar lines, or asking gentle questions like “What happens next?” or “How do you think they feel here?” If your child wants to tell you the story instead, even better — this kind of role reversal strengthens memory, language, and storytelling abilities.
Eventually, children do move on. When they’ve had their fill of a particular book, they’re often ready to explore new stories with a richer set of skills in place. The comfort and confidence gained from repeated readings help them approach unfamiliar books with greater interest and less frustration. So rather than seeing repetition as a rut, it’s helpful to view it as a bridge — a way for children to move steadily from the familiar to the new.
Our practitioners are skilled at making repeated reading feel fresh and interactive, even when the story is already very familiar. By using expressive voices, gestures, and encouraging children to join in with key words or sounds, we help bring the story to life each time. Children are often invited to take on the role of storyteller themselves, turning pages, pointing to pictures, and even “reading” aloud from memory. These small but powerful moments help build confidence and strengthen communication skills in a way that feels natural and joyful.
Children are all different. They learn and develop at different rates to each other and that applies to potty training success too. Circumstances in each family are different too, and this will also have an effect. In other words, there is no hard and fast rule about the age by which little ones should have mastered the use of the potty. Parents should therefore not worry if their child is slower to master toileting than their siblings or peers. That said, some very rough guidelines will always be useful to parents and these follow.
Allowing your toddler to help choose their potty can automatically make it less daunting and instead more of a ‘friendly’ thing to have in their life.
Children can also be encouraged by having their own toy potties. They, and parents, can ‘train’ teddies and dolls to use these during play. Doing so will help them be both relaxed and more educated about potty training — even proactive.
Don’t forget to make potty training fun! Many of these tips will help towards that, including the rewards idea (#4), praise (#5), characters on potties (#7), toileting-themed music (#8), and so on.
household cleanliness, and for their independence.
As we previously reported, 
One of the ways you can optimise the success of any indoor play is to set aside a dedicated and safe play area or room for your child. Here, you can ensure that children have the space and tools available for stimulating play when needed, and quieter play at other times. Age-appropriate toys, books, and equipment are, of course, the first prerequisite for such an area. However, you may also consider other elements such as a quiet storytelling/reading corner, a play den or teepee, a relaxation area with cushions and blankets, a creative section with art and craft supplies, a play kitchen or play tools section, and so on. Giving your child such a space is sure to encourage them to immerse themselves in their play activities. And, as we know, children learn best through play.
As well as giving children the tools for imaginative and educational play at home, your proactive input will also boost the benefits they receive from such activities. So, get involved, lead them sometimes and at other times let them lead. They’ll discover and learn more in this way. Ask and answer questions, encourage them to be creative in their thinking and physical approach and highlight aspects and elements that they may not otherwise have been aware of. Such an approach can teach children so much. It may well also deepen the bond between you.
There are many types of play at home that can involve role-play, which is a powerful tool for learning. Role-play allows children to immerse themselves deeply into the game, story, or scenario they are acting out. As such it greatly boosts young imaginations and stimulates creativity skills. So, encourage such activities as dressing up in costumes, acting, and putting on pretend voices to embody characters. You and your child can take this a step further through the setting up of play equipment or props to create a new play scenario, for example, a play den, cave, pretend kitchen, or castle. Children will have immense fun whilst also learning huge amounts from such creative and imaginative activities.
Role-playing can also be brought into time spent reading with your child. 
While electronic screens have their occasional place in the education and entertainment of families, it’s healthy to ensure your child has regular screen-free time. Partaking in active play at home — rather than staring inactively at a screen — can only be a good thing, in so many ways. Social skills will be better when children are actively involved in physical play with others. Motor skills and fitness will also benefit. Creativity levels will go through the roof too when children play in real life. They will also learn so much about the world, everything around them and the endless possibilities available to them by playing in the real world. Ensuring children get access to such benefits and opportunities by switching off smartphones, TVs, tablets and game consoles is something every parent can easily do for their child. Doing so will allow for more traditional play, which will enrich their lives in an infinite number of ways.
Toys that allow open-ended play are the toys that young children will usually learn the most from. For example, allowing your child to play with building blocks and materials for arts and crafts will let your child’s imagination run riot. Through these, they will be able to create an infinite range of scenarios and possibilities. Dolls and action figures are also good examples that will allow children to immerse themselves in open-ended play, with you there to help expand those possibilities, scenarios and learning opportunities even further.
It doesn’t have to be just you and your child playing. Siblings and your child’s peers can also be encouraged to join in. Consider inviting your little one’s friends to your home or local park for a play date. Getting your child’s friends and peers together for group play will allow your child to learn and hone social skills like cooperation, teamwork, leadership, sharing and potentially even conflict resolution. And, with you there to oversee the group session, you can be sure that home play will be fulfilling, organised, fair and rewarding for all who take part.
Remember that you can facilitate learning through play outdoors with your child too. Whether in the garden, park or countryside, playing outdoors gives children a vast number of learning opportunities — and it’s great fun! By accompanying children outdoors, they can naturally explore and discover — and enjoy doing so in ways that are much more free than when playing indoors. Outdoor play is a feast for the senses, it will encourage the honing of physical skills like balance, coordination, motor skills and strength as well as fitness. Playing in the natural world is also incredibly good for children’s mental well-being and holistic development. Learn more about 
Children and families, get ready for National Storytelling Week! For 2024, storytelling in the UK is officially celebrated from Saturday the 27th of January to Sunday the 4th of February. It’s a great opportunity for children and families to get creative and to entertain one another through the sharing of stories.
National Storytelling Week couldn’t come at a better time of year. As many across the UK have witnessed in recent weeks, January brings with it cold days, dull skies, and wintery weather. Even the daylight hours are short, limiting the number of activities children can undertake outdoors. With storytelling, however, families can be transported to any number of different locations, situations and climates, all in the blink of an eye. Indeed, storytelling can take children to places and scenarios that would simply not be possible in real life. Such is the power of this art form and the human imagination.
Stories stimulate imaginations;
Another great way to help children create new stories is to encourage them to be inspired by objects around them. For example, a teddy bear, toy character, or picture nearby may inspire them. This can be taken further by providing children with a basket of such props, for example, a toy animal, pine cone, toy crown, goblet, apple, and a rock. A ‘story scrapbook’ can be used by children in a similar way. Such things can significantly help children to become more creative and generate storyline ideas, sequencing, and plot twists.
Bilingual children have been shown to have better cognitive flexibility, focus and creativity. Studies have shown that this often leads to better decision-making, prioritisation and planning skills too. With such skills in place, bilingual children may also have a better ability to multitask and switch between separate tasks.
Young bilingual children may sometimes mix their languages or use one language inappropriately in certain contexts. This is a normal part of the language acquisition process but can be a little confusing, at times, for both the child and their caregivers.
Parents play a crucial role in supporting their bilingual children’s language development. To help your child become proficient in two different languages, it’s important to consistently speak both at home. Doing so can help children develop a particularly strong foundation in both languages.
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.