Universal Information, Resources and Advice

Ideas to develop your baby or child’s communication skills. Find strategies, activities and resources that will help your child develop understanding, talking or communication skills. The resources and activities might be things you choose to do yourself at home. They might also include more particular activities advised by a practitioner or activities and programmes that your child’s school or setting might use. You may find more specific activities that can be advised or delivered by a speech and language therapist.

What follows is organised according to the Balanced System Five Strands and Three Levels because that is the framework that is underpinning service delivery across the system in Torbay and here are our Torbay resources.

What is The Balanced System®?

The Balanced System® framework is a way of making sure that in a setting, school or local area, the right provisions are available for parents, carers and professionals to help children and young people develop their speech, language and communication.

The framework is organised in five strands or themes and across three levels. All of these are important to get the whole system working at its best.  If a local area is working well then as a parent or carer you should be able to find out what you need to know to answer your questions and where to go for more information.

I know what to do to help my baby or child’s communication development.

I know what particular activities help my baby or child’s early communication development

I know what specialist activities help my baby or child’s early communication

On these pages you will find information, advice and support to help your child’s communication which is listed under universal, targeted or specialist and ideas to do at home, your child’s progress, services, activities you can do and general information and websites you can go to. Click on one of the universal, targeted or specialist signposts or one of the green buttons below to find out more.

What follows is organised according to the Balanced System Five Strands and Three Levels because that is the framework that is underpinning service delivery across the system in Torbay and here are our Torbay resources.

What is The Balanced System®?

The Balanced System® framework is a way of making sure that in a setting, school or local area, the right provisions are available for parents, carers and professionals to help children and young people develop their speech, language and communication.

The framework is organised in five strands or themes and across three levels. All of these are important to get the whole system working at its best.  If a local area is working well then as a parent or carer you should be able to find out what you need to know to answer your questions and where to go for more information.

You might receive these advice sheets during one of our family hub sessions, or you can download them here. They cover a range of topics from singing and messy play to brain development and tips for positive play.

Sharing Big Little Moments every day. How do the Big Little Moments work?

Children’s brains are made of many different strands. Three of these strands are how they learn to talk, how they feel, and how they make friends. Every time you talk to a child, or respond to them, you’re helping these strands grow strong. And the stronger each strand is, the stronger their brain will be.

All these little moments you share add up to something much bigger. Giving children the skills they need to develop into healthy, bright adults.

Here’s one of the Big Little Moments videos about sharing a story. Find out about Big Little Moments and find more videos here.

Tiny Happy People is here to help you develop your child’s language skills. Explore our simple activities and play ideas and find out about babies and toddlers’ amazing early development.

Bookstart aims to encourage a love of books, stories and rhymes in children from as young an age as possible. Whether you’re a family wanting to find out what Bookstart can offer you, or an early years partner involved in delivering Bookstart, you’ll find all the information you need right here.

Babies and young children love it when you chat, play and read with them, even if you think they’re too young to understand. You can turn almost anything into a game. And every little thing you do together will help set them up nicely for the day they start school. Find some great top tips here to support you baby, toddler and child. Video’s, activities and information for 1 to 2 years, 2 to 3 years and 3 to 5 years.

Health visitors are registered nurses/midwives who have additional training in community public health nursing who work in partnership with community public health staff nurses who are trained nurses and community nursery nurses.

They provide a professional public health service based on best evidence of what works for individuals, families, groups and communities; enhancing health and reducing inequalities for children 0 to 5 years and beyond. They can help with many areas of child development including sleep, behaviour, healthy eating, bladder and bowel issues.

Watch this health visiting in the community video to find out more about the role of a health visitor.

Contact 0 to 19 Torbay

• Call: 0300 333 5352
• Email: Publichealthnursing.torbay@nhs.net
• Online: www.torbayfamilyhub.org.uk
• Social Media: search 0 to 19 Torbay on Facebook and Instagram
• Download our Torbay Family Hub app on Apple and Android and chat to us

For Local Infant Feeding support

• Call: 07500 952216
• Email: nhsinfantfeedingtorbay
• Social Media: NHS Infant Feeding Torbay

Useful websites

• Parent Talk – Free down to earth parenting advice and 1:1 chat from Action For Children
• FREE online Antenatal and Parenting Courses , with online code TAMAR inourplace.co.uk

Download our leaflet with information on the support and services you can expect in Torbay whether it’s from your health visiting team, family hub or early years setting.

We want to help every parent or carer in Torbay to find the right support at the right time. Support isn’t just for the tough times. It’s there to help make your whole parenting experience easier and more enjoyable.

Where you can get support

Download our leaflet for information on the services and support available in Torbay for infant feeding, your mental health and wellbeing and early communication.

If you have just moved to Torbay, view or download our transfer in booklet full of information and advice to support your child or children’s health.

Libraries Unlimited runs libraries in Torbay on behalf of Torbay Council. The four public libraries in Torbay are: Paignton Library, Torquay Library, Brixham Library and Churston Library. All libraries offer a range of events and activities, free access to books and information, free WiFi and a range of digital resources including eBooks and digital magazines.

Find a library and opening hours, join the library, renew and reserve items and see what’s on. Libraries in Torbay

Talk to your Early Years Setting or Health Visitor at the

• 2 – 3 year Early Years Progress check
• 2 – 2.3 year Health Visiting developmental review. call the 0 to 19 Torbay advice line on 0300 333 5352 (Monday – Friday 9am to 5pm) or Email: publichealthnursing.torbay@nhs.net

Or you can talk to one of the early years team at any of our family hubs. Click here to find out about the support available in Torbay

Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQs) help you and our staff understand how your child is developing, they are just one of the tools we may use during our contact with you – but of course most important of all is what you tell us about your child.

The ASQs are not a measure of how well your child is or isn’t doing, as we know all children develop differently. They are something that we use together to talk about the things your child does easily, to think about any concerns you might have and how we can support you and your child with those. They are split into 5 different areas;

Communication: Your child’s language skills, both what your child understands and what he or she can say – this can be sounds, babbling or talking.

Gross Motor: How your child uses their arms and legs for sitting, crawling, walking, running, and other activities.

Fine Motor: How your child uses their hands and fingers – for example scribbling or picking up food.

Problem Solving: How your child plays with toys and solves problems.

Personal-Social: Your child’s self-help skills and how they play and interact with others.

The ASQ that is used is based on the age of your child, but we may decide together that this is not right for your child and decide to use a different age or an alternative assessment tool – this is nothing to worry about – we are just making sure we use the right tool for your child.

Health visiting and school nursing are part of our 0 to 19 Torbay team who focus on the health and development of your child. We will get in touch to review your child’s development at the following key stages:

• At 6-8 weeks
• 9-12 months
• 2.3 years

You can contact the 0 to 19 Torbay team by calling our advice line on 0300 333 5352 or emailing publichealthnursing.torbay@nhs.net. Our opening hours are 9am-5pm Monday-Friday (excluding bank holidays).

Watch this great TED Talk from Molly Wright: How every child can thrive by five

The ELIM is a short form that helps to identify where children are in their language journey at around 2 years of age.

Watching and hearing your child start to communicate is an exciting time for parents and carers and we are very aware that every child’s language journey looks different. We are here to support our families in any way we can, from advice and support, to running courses and workshops, and making sure your child has all the ‘tools to keep talking’.

We may use an Early Language Identification Measure (ELIM) tool as part of your child’s two to two-and-a-half-year review.

The ELIM tool focuses on speech, language and communication development to help identify if your child would benefit from extra support at an earlier stage.

Use the ELIM word list before your appointment to think about the words your child uses in everyday life. You may find it helpful to write a list of the words or print the list if you’re able to and tick the words your child uses and bring along to discuss during your child’s review.

• Children are not expected to use all the words on the ELIM list and you may also find your child uses words that are not on this list.
• It does not matter what language/s your child uses for the different words.

You can discuss with the practitioner during your review and, if needed, plan together how to support your child’s speech, language and communication development as well as their other areas of development.

Take a look at Speech and language UK’s guide to typical stages of speech and language development in babies, children and young people.

Download this helpful booklet ‘Universally Speaking’ For children aged birth to 5 years 

Information on what to typically expect, top tips and things you can do to encourage your baby, toddler of child’s communication.

Conception to birth

Talking to your bump

Bonding can begin before birth. Babies’ brains develop very quickly during pregnancy – they can hear and feel things too. Did you know that babies’ hearing starts developing from about sixteen weeks into pregnancy? By 6 months of pregnancy, your baby can hear music and voices, recognise familiar voices, learn and remember

Babies recognise voices and can start to respond even while they’re still in the womb. Feeling your baby move and kick in response to your voice and your touch makes those early conversations really rewarding and making a connection with your baby helps you feel very close to them even before they are born.

• Bump chats TOP TIPS
• • Find regular quiet times when you can talk and sing to your baby
• • Try ‘turn taking’: when you feel them kick, rub that spot. Wait for another kick and respond again
• • Babies hear their mother’s heartbeat all the time, day and night. Try gently tapping or making a sound along with it
• • Encourage partners, grandparents and any older siblings to get involved too
• • You may notice your baby relaxes at the sound of familiar voices, and becomes calmer and quieter when you are talking to them. Notice how your baby responds
• • If you’re not sure what to say, try reading a baby book aloud or sing nursery rhymes or talk about everyday things, your baby will just enjoy the sound of your voice
• • Gently rocking and moving to music is a good way for your baby to develop good physical, movement skills and balance even before birth.

From birth to 6 months

Remember, not all children develop at the same rate but during this time I will:

• make sounds, like cooing, gurgling and babbling, to myself and with other people
• make noises to get your attention
• watch your face when you talk to them
• get excited when I hear voices coming, showing excitement by kicking or waving my arms or making noises
• smile and laugh when other people smile and laugh
• make sounds back when talked to.

My parents might want to speak to a Health Visitor or GP if:

• I struggle to keep my milk down.
• I’m not startled by loud noises.
• I don’t use my eyes to watch you when you talk to me.
• I don’t ever smile back when someone is communicating and smiling at me.
• I don’t show interest in my parent’s face when talking to them.

See it in action, just click on this link.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/tiny-happy-people/speech-lab-peekaboo/zqntxbk

By 12 months

Remember, not all children develop at the same rate but during this time I will:

• make talking noises – babble strings of sounds, like ‘ma-ma-ma’, ‘ba-ba-ba’
• make noises, point to things and look at you to get your attention
• start to say sounds that will become my first words and use gestures
• start to understand words like ‘bye-bye’ and ‘up’ especially when a gesture is used at the same time
• recognise the names of familiar objects, things like ‘cup’ and ‘bowl’, ‘teddy’ and ‘mummy’
• look at you when you speak or when I hear my name called
• take turns in ‘conversations’, babbling back to an adult

My parents might want to speak to a Health Visitor or GP if:

• I’m not doing some of the things a younger child would (see previous age boxes)
• I have not made any babbling or other sounds by 6 months
• I don’t point by 12 months I don’t try to get your attention (this might be by making noises, eye contact, facial expressions, reaching, throwing toys from my buggy or highchair)

BBC Tiny Happy people have some great advice and tools for talking here.

By 18 months

Remember, not all children develop at the same rate but during this time I will:

• begin talking! I will be able to say around 20 words. These are usually things I hear a lot at home or in my early years setting – such as ‘milk’, ‘doggy’, ‘hurrah’, ‘bye-bye’, ‘more’, ‘no’
• say words in a baby way, but the words usually sound the same each time I say them
• understand some simple words and short phrases. These are usually things I hear a lot during the day, such as ‘coat on’, ‘drink’, ‘shoes’, ‘bus’, ‘in your buggy’, ‘dinner time’, ‘all gone’
• recognise and point to familiar objects when you ask me
• enjoy games like ‘peek-a-boo’ and ‘patacake’ and toys that make a noise – I still like the comfort of a familiar adult nearby
• be exploring my world and starting to enjoy simple pretend play, like pretending to talk on the phone

My parents might want to speak to a Health Visitor or GP if:

• • I’m not doing some of the things a younger child would (see previous age boxes)
• • I don’t show enjoyment of being with a familiar adult
• • I don’t look towards familiar people or objects when their names are said
• • I don’t bring objects to an adult to show or to share.
• • I don’t follow simple instructions.
• • I don’t look for or go to a familiar adult for comfort when I am scared, upset or hurt.
• • I don’t try to show you things by pointing at them and looking back at you.
• • I don’t use gestures like nodding or shaking my head, waving, putting my hands out in a ‘where’s it gone?’ gesture.

To contact the 0 to 19 Torbay health visiting team, please call us on 0300 333 5352 (Monday – Friday 9am to 5pm) or email: publichealthnursing.torbay@nhs.net

By 2 years

Remember, not all children develop at the same rate but during this time I will:

• • use over 50 single words like ‘juice’, ‘car’, ‘biscuit’
• • be starting to put short sentences together with two to three words, such as “more juice” or “bye-bye daddy”
• • be asking simple questions such as “what that?”, “who that?”. They might do this quite a lot!
• • understand between 200 and 500 words
• • understand simple questions and instructions like “where’s baby”, “go and get your coat”, “mummy’s turn”
• • enjoy pretend play with their toys, such as feeding dolly or pretending to drive a car, usually making noises and talking while playing
• • become very frustrated when they cannot get their message across. This is one reason for toddler tantrums

My parents might want to speak to a Health Visitor or GP if:

• • I’m not doing some of the things a younger child would (see previous age boxes)
• • I don’t play with objects by pretending? – e.g. give teddy a drink; using a box as a doll’s bed; pretend talk on the phone

To contact the 0 to 19 Torbay health visiting team, please call us on 0300 333 5352 (Monday – Friday 9am to 5pm) or email: publichealthnursing.torbay@nhs.net

By 3 years

Remember, not all children develop at the same rate but during this time I will:

• • use up to 300 words and use different types of words to do different things; to describe what things look like (‘big’, ‘soft’) where they are (‘under’, ‘on’) what they are for (‘eating’, ‘playing’) and to describe how many (‘lots’)
• • refer to something that has happened in the past
• • put 4 or 5 words together to make short sentences, such as “me want more juice”, “him want his coat”
• • ask lots of questions
• • have clearer speech, although I will still have some things I don’t get quite right. I might say things like ‘pider’ instead of ‘spider’. However, people who know me can mostly understand me
• • listen to and remember simple stories with pictures
• • understand longer instructions, such as “put on your coat and get your bag” or “where’s mummy’s coat?”
• • understand simple ‘who’, ‘what’ and ‘where’ questions
• • play more with other children and join in with play
• • play more complex imaginative games
• • be able to have a proper conversation, though I may flit around the topic a bit and be difficult to follow at times
• • be able to recognise how other people feel and will try to do something about it (e.g. “Ah, Josie sad. She need a hug.”)

My parents might want to speak to a Health Visitor or GP if:

• • I’m not doing some of the things a younger child would (see previous age boxes)
• • I don’t regularly use words to express myself
• • I don’t follow simple, everyday instructions
• • I can’t settle and play with activity that I choose myself even for a very short time
• • I don’t show any response when somebody talks to me
• • I don’t show any interest in communicating
• • I am not using sentences with 2 words
• • I seem to have stopped making progress with my talking
• • I use gesture to get what I want rather than using the words
• • My parents can’t understand what I say
• • I rely on being shown what to do rather than on understanding the words people say.

To contact the 0 to 19 Torbay health visiting team, please call us on 0300 333 5352 (Monday – Friday 9am to 5pm) or email: publichealthnursing.torbay@nhs.net

By 4 years

Remember, not all children develop at the same rate but during this time I will:

• • ask lots of questions using words like ‘what’, ‘where’ and ‘why’
• • be able to answer questions about ‘why’ something has happened
• • use longer sentences and link sentences together, E.g. “I had pizza for tea and then I played in the garden”
• • describe events that have already happened, E.g. “We got dressed up and we went to the hall and singed songs. All the mummies and daddies did watch”
• • have mostly clear speech, though will continue to have difficulties with a small number of sounds – for example ‘r’ – as in ‘rabbit’, ‘l’ – as in ‘letter’, ‘th’ as in ‘thumb’, ‘sh’ as in ‘show’, and ‘j’ as in ‘jam’
• • listen to longer stories and answer questions about a story they have just heard, for example, simple questions such as “Who did Cinderella dance with at the ball?”, “Were Cinderella’s sisters kind?”
• • understand and often use colour, number and time related words, for example, ‘red’ car, ‘three’ fingers
• • enjoy make-believe play
• • start to like simple jokes – though often their own jokes make little sense
• • start to be able to plan games with others

My parents might want to speak to a Health Visitor or GP if:

• • I’m not doing some of the things a younger child would (see previous age boxes)
• • I don’t use sentences with 3 words or more
• • I don’t understand simple commands
• • Close relatives can’t understand me most of the time
• • I struggle to turn ideas into sentences
• • My words are often jumbled, and my ideas are difficult to follow

To contact the 0 to 19 Torbay health visiting team, please call us on 0300 333 5352 (Monday – Friday 9am to 5pm) or email: publichealthnursing.torbay@nhs.net

By 5 years

Remember, not all children develop at the same rate but during this time I will:

• • take turns in much longer conversations
• • use sentences that are well formed, for example, “I had spaghetti for tea at Jamilia’s house”
• • be learning more words all the time as well as thinking more about the meanings of words, such as describing the meaning of simple words or asking what a new word means
• • be able to re-tell short stories I have heard in roughly the right order and use language that makes it sound like a story
• • use most speech sounds. However, I may have some difficulties with more difficult words such as ‘scribble’ or ‘elephant’ and some speech sounds such as ‘r’ and ‘th’ may still be difficult
• • enjoy listening to stories, songs and rhymes and will start to make up my own
• • ask relevant questions or make relevant comments in relation to what I’ve have heard
• • understand spoken instructions without stopping what I’m doing to look at who is speaking to me
• • understand more complicated language such as ‘first’, ‘last’, ‘might’, ‘maybe’, ‘above’ and ‘in between’
• • understand words that describe sequences such as “first we are going to the shop, next we will play in the park”
• • choose my own friends
• • use talk to take on different roles in imaginative play, to interact and negotiate with people and to have longer conversations
• • use talk to help work out problems to organise my thinking and take part in activities

My parents might want to speak to a Health Visitor or GP if:

• • I’m not doing some of the things a younger child would (see previous age boxes)
• • I don’t use sentences with 3 words or more
• • I don’t understand simple commands
• • Close relatives can’t understand me most of the time
• • I struggle to turn ideas into sentences
• • My words are often jumbled, and my ideas are difficult to follow
• • I have poor understanding of spoken language.
• • Strangers cannot understand much of my speech.
• • I have difficulty with abstract ideas such as size or time.
• • I cannot identify the words to be able to say what I want.
• • I struggle to organise my words into an order when I talk, e.g. I might miss connecting and describing words – I might say ‘playing ball’ instead of ‘Jake is playing with the ball’.

Talk to your school nurse, GP, school/setting practitioner

CFHD All age Advice line 0333 321 9448 (Mon-Fri 2pm-4.30pm

Libraries Unlimited provide a comprehensive library services across Torbay which includes regular events for children. Bounce and Rhyme is aimed at babies and toddlers to help their literacy development through the repetition of rhymes and songs. The group is also a great way for parents to meet and chat.

Join us for this fun, free half-hour singing session for babies and toddlers. Sing and bounce along to well known nursery rhymes and songs. We provide instruments, scarves and cuddly toys so there is lots for your little one to enjoy. No need to book just come along to one of our weekly sessions. For dates and times, go to Libraries Unlimited website.

Please book in advance (no more than 6 days before the next session) either in person at the library, or call 01803 714452 or email us at torquay.library@librariesunlimited.org.uk

Learn Laugh Play offers fun affordable learning for home ed families

A weekly session with a rolling programme of development and behaviour support for parents.

Each week we focus on a different area of your toddlers development including – General development/Speech, language and communication, Sleep, Toilet training, Managing children’s emotions, Dummy use and/or dental info, Healthy Lifestyles.

Groups focused on child development.

This is a weekly group for parents with their babies to attend and is based on offering specific advice and guidance for new mothers.

Each week there will be a theme focused around your child’s development run by the family hub staff with breastfeeding peer supporters on hand to offer additional support. Click on our What’s on pages for dates, times and venues. Just search My Developing Baby.

You will be offered regular health and development reviews (health visitor checks) for your baby until they are around 2. These are to support you and your baby, and make sure their development is on track.

The reviews are usually done by a health visitor or a member of their team at one of our family hubs.

It’s helpful, where possible, for both parents to attend as this gives you both a chance to catch up with your health visiting team ask questions, talk about any concerns you have and think about your child’s next stage.

Aged 8 – 12 months

We offer developmental reviews for your baby at around 9 months old. These will usually take place either in your home or at one of our family hubs by a 0 to19 Family Health Worker.

We will talk to you about how your baby/child is growing and developing. We’ll share information about oral health, healthy eating, vision, hearing, language development and keeping your child safe.

Aged and 2 – 2½ years

You will be offer a developmental review when your child is around 2 years and 3 months olds. We will talk to you about how your baby/child is growing and developing. We’ll share information about oral health, healthy eating, vision, hearing, language development and keeping your child safe.

You will be sent a questionnaire about your child’s development to fill in before the review (the Ages and Stages Questionnaire, ASQ). Find out more about ASQ’s here. 

If you are worried about your baby or child’s development or would like to contact our health visiting team, please give us a call on 0300 333 5352 (Monday – Friday 9am to 5pm) or email publichealthnursing.torbay@nhs.net

We often hear the term home learning environment, but what do we mean by it?

This is learning environment your child experiences at home with their family. ALL parents are educators of their children, and anyone can do it. It does not require you to be ‘the teacher’ or buy lots of resources. It requires your time and imagination and having lots of fun!

Parents are a child’s first and most enduring educators. Parents and families are the most important people in children’s lives. They have the greatest influence over them, particularly in their early years.

What you do at home as parents has a major impact on social, emotional and intellectual development.

Parents who engage in meaningful activities that encourage thinking and talking to stretch a child’s mind as part of everyday life can enhance their child’s development significantly.

Evidence shows that the below activities have the biggest impact on your child’s learning:

• Reading with and to children, and going to the library
• Singing songs and rhymes
• Going out and about on visits
• Drawing and painting
• Playing with friends
• Playing with letters and numbers

The following activities are important too:

• Listening, talking and thinking – using a family’s strongest language(s) from birth
• Doing real things together, for example: cooking, gardening, helping with the shopping
• Letting the children have a go for themselves
• Imagining and pretending

Suggestions for how to make your home a place that helps with understanding, talking and communication. Click on the drop downs below for activities you can do at home.

Every chat you have with your child helps them develop their social skills. Children’s brains are like little sponges, soaking up everything around them. Kids love it when you chat, play and read with them. And it sets them up nicely for school. Find more about chatting withy our baby or toddler here.

Chat rhymes with cat, hat, and splat. That’s so funny, you really make me laugh!

This box is a car. No, a truck. No, a monster truck, yeah!

Remember these skills when chatting with little ones.

• Talk
• Pause
• Listen
• Respond

Find out why mark making is so important and discover our top tips for supporting this in the early years.

Making scribbles with pens, creating hand prints with paint and drawing patterns in the sand, aka mark making, are all signs you’ll see on the lead up to writing in the early years.

Did you know?

• You can use a paint brush and water to make marks outside.

• You can use a stick to create marks in the sand at the beach.

• You can press objects into playdough to make marks too.

Mark making is the beginning of a child’s journey to writing and is an important step in a child’s development. It also helps with fine and gross motor skills.

What is mark making?

If you work in early childhood education, you’ve likely heard the term “mark making” quite often. But what exactly does it mean, and how does it benefit children’s development?

Mark making encompasses all the scribbles and patterns that children naturally create. Whether it’s drawing patterns in the sand with their fingers, scribbling on paper with a crayon, dipping their fingers in spilled food, or drawing lines in the mud with a stick, these activities are the beginnings of mark making. Children do this almost instinctively, without needing any instruction.

When babies and toddlers start making marks intentionally using their bodies or various tools, they are taking their first steps towards writing and drawing. No matter how children mark make, this is a very important step in both physical development and cognitive development and should be encouraged whenever you spot it!

How does mark making encourage writing?

When children create marks through art or by drawing patterns, they are using essential physical development tools needed for writing. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t encourage mark making in other ways. In fact, engaging in mark making on a larger scale outdoors is particularly beneficial as it promotes ‘whole arm’ movements. These movements help build the foundation of muscle control necessary for holding a pencil correctly.

The benefits of mark making include:

When children create marks through art or by drawing patterns, they are using essential physical development tools needed for writing. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t encourage mark making in other ways. In fact, engaging in mark making on a larger scale outdoors is particularly beneficial as it promotes ‘whole arm’ movements. These movements help build the foundation of muscle control necessary for holding a pencil correctly.

Physical Development
As children experiment with making marks, they learn to use their bodies in various ways. This promotes fine and gross motor skills, different grips, and body control, all of which are essential for writing.

Expressive Arts & Design
Mark making and drawing lines or patterns that represent something else allow children to express themselves creatively. It provides a new way for them to convey their feelings more permanently, rather than through sounds and movement. This activity sparks their imagination and helps them share their thoughts through pictures and stories.

Mathematics
Mark making can lay the foundation for understanding numbers and shapes, leading to the development of mathematical skills.

While some children may already know how to write numbers or form simple words, it’s important to encourage them without rushing through this stage, as children progress at different rates.

Tips for Encouraging Mark Making at Home

Supporting mark making at home can be both fun and beneficial for your child’s development. Here are some practical tips for parents:

• Provide a Variety of Materials: Offer different tools like crayons, markers, chalk, paint, and even sticks for outdoor drawing. Having a range of materials can make mark making more exciting.

• Create a Dedicated Space: Set up a specific area for mark making, whether it’s a small table indoors or a spot in the garden. This helps children associate the space with creativity.

• Encourage Outdoor Activities: Use chalk on the pavement, draw in the sand, or make patterns in the mud. Outdoor mark making allows for larger movements and can be very engaging.

• Incorporate Everyday Activities: Encourage mark making during daily routines, like drawing shapes in spilled flour while baking or using a finger to draw in condensation on windows.

• Celebrate Their Work: Display your child’s creations around the house. This boosts their confidence and shows that you value their efforts.

• Join In: Participate in mark making activities with your child. This not only makes it more enjoyable but also provides an opportunity for bonding.

• Encourage Experimentation: Let your child experiment with different grips and movements. This helps develop their fine and gross motor skills.

• Use Technology Wisely: Digital drawing apps can also be a fun way for children to engage in mark making, but balance screen time with physical activities.

• Read and Draw Together: Combine storytelling with drawing. Ask your child to draw scenes from their favourite stories or create their own illustrations.

• Be Patient and Positive: Every child progresses at their own pace. Encourage their efforts and celebrate their progress without rushing them.

By incorporating these tips, you can create a supportive environment that nurtures your child’s mark making and overall development.

Indoor Activities

Mark making on 3D objects uses different muscles than making marks on a flat piece of paper, strengthening muscles in fingers, hands, arms and shoulders.

Marks can also be made in materials such as dry sand, flour, glitter etc using use a finger. If in individual trays, children can make their marks then when finished, give the tray a shake and you have a blank canvas ready for more marks to be made.

• Finger Painting: Use washable paints and let your child create patterns and pictures with their fingers.

• Chalkboard or Whiteboard: Provide chalk or dry-erase markers for drawing and writing. Chalk is chunky and easy for little hands to hold to draw and doesn’t require much pressure for a mark to be made.

• Scribble Station: Set up a table with paper, crayons, markers, and coloured pencils for free drawing.

• Playdough Patterns: Roll out playdough and use tools or fingers to make marks and shapes.

• Water Painting: Use a brush and water to paint on a chalkboard or a piece of dark construction paper.

• Sand Tray: Fill a tray with sand or rice and let your child draw patterns with their fingers or small tools.

• Stickers and Stamps: Use stickers and stamps to create pictures and patterns on paper.

• Drawing in Flour: Spread flour on a baking tray and let your child draw with their fingers.

Outdoor Activities

• Pavement Chalk: Draw on the pavement with colourful chalk.

• Mud Painting: Use sticks or fingers to draw in the mud.

• Nature Brushes: Create brushes from leaves, twigs, and flowers, and use them to paint with water or mud.

• Water Play: Use a paintbrush and water to draw on the pavement or fence.

• Sand Art: Draw patterns in a sandbox or at the beach.

• Leaf Rubbings: Place paper over leaves and rub with crayons to create leaf patterns.

• Garden Drawing: Use sticks to draw in the soil or sand in the garden.

Creative Activities

• Story Drawing: Read a story and ask your child to draw scenes from it.

• Shape Tracing: Provide stencils or objects to trace around.

• Collage Making: Use different materials like paper, fabric, and natural items to create a collage.

• Bubble Wrap Painting: Paint on bubble wrap and press paper onto it to create textured prints.

• Shadow Drawing: Place objects in the sunlight and trace their shadows on paper.

These activities not only support mark making but also encourage creativity, fine motor skills, and imaginative play. Enjoy creating and exploring with your child!

More ideas

Take a look at our social media posts on Facebook and Instagram for more ideas like the ones below.

Why should you get out and about?

Being outside of the home environment encourages a child to use all their senses. Their imagination will spark conversations about what they can see, hear, touch and even smell.

Playing isn’t just fun: it’s also the best way for young children to learn. By playing, children can practise all the skills they’ll need as they grow up and parents and carers are a baby’s favourite playmate. You don’t need expensive toys – just a few minutes at a time to have fun together.

Remember this when playing with little ones. Make every day special with your little one: play, talk, and read together to build a loving and connected bond. Bring the play into everyday.

Your baby or toddler’s favourite playmate is you – so try to spend time playing with your baby or toddler every day. Did you know that playing actually requires a lot of your baby or toddler’s brain and muscle power? You can find some great ideas and activities for baby moves at Start for Life or activities for toddlers.

It helps develop their social, intellectual, language and problem-solving skills – and is one of the main ways they learn about the world.

Play is so important that it is considered a human right for children.

Reading can make us laugh, cry, stir-up emotions to make us think differently or help us to walk in someone else’s shoes. Being able to read can help our children unlock the magic of books and develop a lifelong love of reading. Nurturing reading skills is important to set the foundations for a child’s early language, thinking and writing ability.

Make every day special with your little one: play, talk, and read together to build a loving and connected bond. Remember to have fun when reading with little ones.

• Share books.
• Share words.
• Share everywhere.

Reading with your child, even for just a few minutes, can make a huge difference to their learning. Children’s brains are like little sponges, soaking up everything around them. Kids love it when you chat, play and read with them. And it sets them up nicely for school.

Babies and toddlers are constantly developing and a big part of how they learn is through their senses. It
is great to give them opportunities to explore through stimulating, sensory play.

Before children use and understand language, they make sense of the world around them using their senses. First they want to find out what objects are like. To do this, babies use their senses to mouth objects to help them discover more.

As a baby becomes more mobile, they become keen to explore how they can make an object interact with the environment and so explore what they can do with it to an ever greater extent. Then they want to find out what the object can become. As their language develops, they use their imaginations to find a functional use for the object.

Sensory play is a vital part of early childhood development, allowing children to make sense of the world around them through their senses. By engaging children in sensory activities, children develop language skills, problem solving abilities, fine and gross motor skills and cognitive growth. Find out more about sensory play and why it is great for your child’s development here.

Did you know?

Sensory experiences build nerve connections within the developing brain’s neural pathways. You can find out more about brain development here.

You can help stimulate the senses in the following ways

• Smell – scented playdough, oranges, herbs added to water.
• Sight – Mirrors, bold contrasting colours (black & white for babies), bubbles.
• Taste – jelly, cooked spaghetti, cooking together.
• Hearing – Foil blanket, shakers and bells, saucepans and wooden spoons.
• Touch – Wood, metal, ice, shells, fir cones, pebbles.
• Vestibular (sense of balance) Action songs, rolling, jumping, crawling, hanging upside down.
• Proprioception (awareness of position and movement of the body – Pushing and pulling objects, cardboard boxes, riding trikes/bikes.

Here’s some ideas you can try at home.

Playdough

This super-easy playdough recipe is the perfect way to spend a rainy afternoon inside. It’s quick enough to hold a young child’s attention and you only need a few store cupboard ingredients.

Little hands can play with the results straightaway, so there’s immediate fun for all involved!

Playdough microwaveDownload

Lots more information and ideas from BBC Tiny Happy people

Bubbles

Blowing bubbles can help to develop motor skills, visual skills and oral language.
Blowing long streams of bubbles strengthen a child’s core muscles and promote eye
contact.

If you’ve run out of store-bought bubble mixture or need a quick entertainment idea for the kids, it’s easy to make your own bubbles from washing-up liquid and water. But what’s the perfect ratio, and what can you use if you don’t have a bubble wand?

To make the bubble mixture

• 1 Dessertspoon of caster sugar
• 2 Dessertspoons of washing up liquid.
• 1 Cup of warm water

Mix it all together until dissolved and have fun.

Homemade bubble wands

If you don’t have a wand from a store-bought pot of bubbles, don’t despair! You can have fun by looking for different items around the house that can be used to make bubbles. Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Paperclips – bend them into wands or use as they are
• Straws
• Biscuit cutters
• Pipe cleaners
• Fly swatters

View or download our bubble recipe here.

Ice play for babies

One of the best thing about activities with ice, is that they address all 5 senses. If a child has a sensory processing need or not, sensory play is a vital part of a child’s development. Ice makes an amazing sensory play material and it is practically free.  

Benefits: Toddlers and children process information through their senses. Sensory play is unstructured and is the purest sense of exploratory learning.

Adult supervision required at all times.

What you need:

• Ziplock bag
• Ice Food colour {optional)
• Lemon juice (optional)
• Towels

Fill the ziplock bag with ice and secure it. Encourage the child to explore.  

Tips: When the child is ready to explore more, you can start introducing the ice in a tray with plastic toys. You can also use lemon flavour to explore taste. Enjoy exploring with your baby!

Singing from birth (and before!) supports your child to develop their speech and language skills – copying actions and words, listening, turn taking, introduce new words, increase vocabulary, and support memory skills.  A baby/child can use their gross motor skills with action songs and supports bonding with you and others.  Singing can also soothe and distract – a soothing song and calming movement helps sleep.

Why is it important?

Singing to your child can be important for many reasons, including:

Bonding: Singing can create a special moment and strengthen the bond between you and your child. The act of singing releases oxytocin, also known as the love hormone, which can reduce stress and increase relaxation.
Language: Singing can help babies learn about words, language, and communication. It can also help toddlers and children expand their vocabulary and learn about creative language and rhyme.
Transitions: Songs can help babies know what to expect during routine transitions like waking up and sleeping.
Emotional skills: Singing can help children understand and control their emotions, feel more confident, and bond with others.
Cognitive skills: Singing can help children learn new concepts like counting and sequencing.
Reading: Singing can help children learn how to read by training their ears to hear individual letter sounds and words.
Musical dynamics: Singing teaches children about musical dynamics such as loud and soft, fast and slow, high and low, legato and staccato, and happy and sad.

Singing makes you happy: Singing out loud releases feel-good hormones called endorphins that make you feel happy and positive. There is also a tiny part of your inner ear, called the sacculus, that releases even more happy hormones when it’s stimulated by music. So turn up the volume and belt out your favourite tune!

Try the happy song from CBeebies

Where and when

Absolutely anytime!  Singing can be enjoyed no matter where you are… Walking in the park, driving in the car, bath time, soothing songs at bedtime, getting dressed/undressed, playing together…

How

When singing together support your baby/child by facing them so they can see your face/expressions and movement of your mouth. Slow down your singing so words can be heard more clearly and support your child with the actions. Repeating songs is a great way for children to build their memory skills and join in again and again with a familiar song! Banging on a drum, shaking a rattle/bells, clapping supports their motor skills and helps children hear different sounds and rhythm.

Find out more

Take a look at BBC Tiny Happy people for some great videos or songs and nursery rhymes. Like The wheels on the bus or click here to discover lots more.