Special Time With Your Child

Special time means spending time with your child in a meaningful way. When you spend time with your child you are building a positive relationship with her, which will make her feel supported and loved. The more supported and loved she feels, the less likely she will become involved in negative behaviours.

Your child is learning while she is playing. Special time supports your child to explore her world and learn to solve problems through play. Special time means spending time with your child while she plays but allowing her to choose the activity. By paying attention to her, you are showing her she is loved and appreciated and what she is doing is important to you. Try and spend at least five minutes in special time with your child every day. Here are some tips:

• Tell your child it’s special play time and let her decide the game she wants to play 
• Sit close to your child and give her your full attention 
• Don’t show your child how to play. She will learn it by herself!
• Praise your child when she does something you like. 
• If your child does something you don’t like, ignore it by looking away until she stops.
• Only interrupt your child if she does something dangerous or breaks a home rule.

Story Time

Your child loves hearing you tell her stories and you can even start the day she is born. Turn every activity into story time!  Tell her what you are doing when you are feeding her or bathing her. Tell her about your day and your dreams.

A visit to the post office or the market is fun and new for your child and the perfect opportunity for storytelling. Point things out to her and tell her stories about them. Stories can be about anything! Everyday objects like a car, a plane or a donkey are exciting to young children.

By telling her stories you can help her learn, even if she may not understand you yet. As she grows, she wants to hear stories about you as a child and members of your family. This connection with her family is important and will stay with her for life. You can also tell her the stories you were told as a child.

Your older child learns about emotions through stories. You can help her understand why she feels sad or frightened by telling her stories about children like her.

Talk To Your Baby

Your baby's brain is growing fast from the day she is born. She is learning your language even though she can’t talk yet.She loves to hear the sound of your voice! When you talk gently with her, it makes her feel calm.

She also likes to watch your face as you talk.Talk to your baby about what you are doing as you change her nappy or bath her. Talk to your baby about what your family members are doing. Soon you will see she is talking back to you in her special way by making sounds and kicking. When she makes a funny sound, make the same sound back at her.

Make funny sounds and encourage her to make the same sound at you. As she grows, she will make more sounds and soon she will say her first words. The more you talk to your baby, the better her brain will develop to learn language when she is older.

By talking to your baby when she is young, you will support her to do well in school in the future and reach her dreams. So talk to your baby as much as you can!

Your Baby Wants To Be Close To You

You are the most important thing in the whole world to your baby. Your baby is a tiny person but she can’t tell you what she needs because she can’t speak yet. Look closely at the expressions on her face and her body movements to understand how she is feeling.

When you understand what your baby is feeling you can respond and make a safe and happy place for her to grow and learn. A good way you can make her feel safe and cared for is by keeping her close to you. Make time each day to hold her close and let her know you love her by trying one of these activities:

• Look into your baby’s eyes as you hold her close to your body. Your baby loves to feel the touch of your skin against her skin. Make sure she is warm by draping a blanket over her.
• Breastfeeding is an excellent way to get close to your baby and form a bond with her. 
• If you are not breastfeeding, you can still use feeding time as an opportunity to show your baby you love her by holding her close, looking into her eyes or talking and singing softly to her.

Playtime With Your Child

Your baby is not too young and you are not too old to play together -playing with your baby is good for her and for you! You are supporting your baby’s growth and development through playing with her. When you and your baby spend time playing together, you are also showing her you love her. Here are a few fun games to try:

• Make funny sounds and wait for your baby to respond. Make the same sounds she makes.
• Your baby wants to learn how to use her little hands. Show your baby how to push buttons or turn the pages of a book or a newspaper.
• Hide your face behind your hands. You will know she is having fun if she watches you, kicks and makes sounds.
• Your baby loves music and song as much as you do. Sing your favourite song to her and use hands to dance. As she gets older, she may start to copy your movements or join in singing by making sounds.
• You can make rattles that have different sounds by filling a small plastic drink bottle with rice, beans, stones or sand. Make sure the lid is tightly fastened!
• Your baby likes to move and spend time on her tummy. Put an orange or a gem squash just out of her reach and encourage her to reach for it.
• Laugh with your baby!