Help your toddler to talk with new national classes from TinyTalk

Hundreds of toddlers across the UK are participating in a new programme created especially for them, ‘TinyTalk Toddlers’. Developed by the team behind the successful TinyTalk Baby Signing Classes, TinyTalk Toddlers focuses on children who are starting to walk and talk with a more physical, interactive experience.

With new themes to explore each week, TinyTalk Toddlers encourages and supports the children’s speech and language understanding and expression through songs, signs, books and musical instruments. It also recognises that toddlers are always on the go so there is a wide range of language development activities, quality books and even a parachute!

“At the TinyTalk Toddler classes we have a lot of fun! Without the children even realising it, we’re also focusing on their understanding and development of speech,” says Katie Mayne, founder of TinyTalk, an ex-primary school teacher and a mother of two. “Signs still play a
valuable supporting role though, as everyone learns to talk (or walk!) at different stages! We also make time for communicational and behavioural ‘etiquette’, so teamwork, conversational turn-taking and that elusive concept of ‘sharing’ are also encouraged…..”

TinyTalk offers baby signing and toddler classes right across the United Kingdom and Ireland and is seeing a significant increase in demand. More and more families are seeking to experience the enormous benefits of early communication and understanding with their little ones. Mayne explains, “Contrary to popular belief, sign language actually encourages spoken
language rather than hindering it. Even tantrums are reduced! Families who attend our classes quickly find out that their babies and toddlers are little chatterboxes, full of so many things to say!”

In the Ministerial Foreword to “Better Communication”, the Government’s action plan to improve services for children and young people with speech, language and communication needs, Ed Balls, MP and Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, and Alan Johnson, MP and former Secretary of State for Health state, “Speech, language and communication are crucial to every child’s ability to access and get the most out of education and life.” They continue, “Creating an environment in which every child develops effective speech, language and communication skills….is a challenge for everyone working with children and young people, from speech and language therapists….to parents.”

So, at a time when serious concerns are being raised about the low level of communication skills of children entering pre-school, the TinyTalk Baby Signing Classes and now TinyTalk Toddlers are top of their class! Through them, thousands of families across the UK have the chance to give their babies and toddlers a strong foundation in communication, for a lifetime of language and learning development.

To join them or for more information about the classes, visit the TinyTalk website or ring 01483 301444.

Gigglebiz: New BBC sketch show for under-sixes with Justin Fletcher

CBeebies has commissioned a new comedy show specially aimed at under-sixes.

Justin Fletcher, known to many as Mr Tumble and presented of Something Special, will perform a series of madcap skits and sketches in Gigglebiz (official CBBC Gigglebiz web site).

It will be CBeebies’ first live action sketch show, due to air this summer.

The series of 25 episodes is a rambunctious collection of short, simple, funny sketches packed with lively, hilarious and eccentric individuals including:

• King Flannel: a decrepit old rogue with a penchant for trying to outwit his butler or generally misbehaving without being caught.
• The Berito Brothers: a slightly faded troupe of past-their-best acrobats. Two of them have still got what it takes but the third: Justin, obviously: most definitely hasn’t!
• Gail Force: a glamorous weather reporter with an uncanny knack of forecasting weather conditions which happen only to her … and not always in the most obvious ways!
• The Lost Pirate: an out-of-time pirate on the constant lookout for treasure with the aid of his map (complete with “x marks the spot” instructions). He travels around in a little kayak for paddling across water: whether that’s the water feature at the local park or the fountains in a shopping mall.
• Nana Knickerbocker: Nana lives her entire life as though she’s in a panto. She invokes all the catchphrases and traditions of a panto, but mainly in completely inappropriate places: like the supermarket. Or shoe shopping! She’s even given to throwing random bags of sweets at total strangers.

Justin Fletcher said: “With 20 characters in all, let’s be honest, this is just a big excuse for me to dress up in funny costumes every day and be silly. It’s such brilliant fun to do.

“We gave some characters a test run in the summer with a pilot show and feedback was really strong, so I’m so excited to be back and making a full series! You could say, I’m in the truly biz of making them giggle!”

Gestures can improve early speech development, scientists find

Using signs and gestures with babies can enhance their communication skills and allow them to learn to talk more quickly, according to research by scientists at the University of Chicago.

The research confirms previous studies that show a strong link between gestures and spoken language, finding that babies who use gestures to communicate, at an early age, have large spoken vocabularies compared to their non-gesturing peers by the time they reach school age.

“Babies have so much to say- even before they can talk. Babies who sign, usually learn to speak much more quickly and more clearly than babies who don’t,” said Katie Mayne, founder of TinyTalk, an ex-primary school teacher and a mother of two. “Signs are like ‘pictures’ for babies, helping them to understand what is being said to them. The signs also help the children to express themselves much earlier too. Their communication attempts promote growing self-confidence and self-esteem which, in turn, leads to further communication! Importantly, through signing, children also make early attempts at speech.”

TinyTalk offers baby signing classes right across the UK and Ireland and is seeing a significant increase in demand. More and more families are seeking to experience the benefits of early communication with their little ones. Mayne explains, “Contrary to popular belief, sign language encourages spoken language rather than hindering it. Even tantrums are reduced! Signing babies are happy babies, able to understand and be understood, and happy babies mean happy carers! Families who attend our classes tell us that their babies and toddlers are little chatterboxes, full of things to say!”

TinyTalk.co.uk

Tori Spelling gets behind The Potty Dance

Actress mum Tori Spelling has put her name behind a new campaign to encourage parents and kids to easier, more fun potty training.

This year, some six million parents in the US will begin potty training their toddlers, and while this is exciting it can also be quite intimidating.

To celebrate her almost two-year-old son Liam’s potty training debut, and help families across the country say farewell to diapers, Tori has teamed up with Pull-Ups training pants to groove to the Potty Dance – the new toddler dance craze introduced by the Pull-Ups brand – to help motivate her son to success.

“Liam is growing up so fast, including his growing interest in the potty,” said Spelling. “While as a mom it’s bittersweet to watch my little boy grow up, we want to applaud this big moment with an activity he’s already crazy for – dancing. I’ve partnered with the Pull-Ups brand to kick-off Liam’s potty training with a celebration I know he will love, and an activity I know will keep me positive, the Potty Dance.”

Watch the video and get the moves over at DoThePottyDance.com

BBC Trust commits to quality children’s programming

“The BBC must remain a cornerstone of high-quality, UK-produced children’s content. This role is even more important given widespread concerns that other public service broadcasters are reducing their investment in children’s output.”

That’s the recommendation of the BBC Trust, which oversees the work and output of the BBC, in a review published today.

It said that BBC’s services and content for children were “performing very well”. While identifying some areas for improvement, it “congratulated staff for the performance they have achieved with the resources available.”

Key findings of the report included:

• Children’s content is popular and appeals to a wide audience
• BBC services generally outperform commercial providers in terms of usage levels and quality measures
• The services make an important contribution to the BBC’s public purposes and, on the whole, offer good value for money for the licence fee payer

Recommendations for improvement included:

• Scheduling decisions should prioritise children’s output unless there is a strong public value reason for not doing so
• Newsround and Blue Peter make an important contribution to the BBC’s citizenship and global public purposes but audience levels have been falling in recent years and this decline has been exacerbated by recent schedule changes. The BBC Executive should boost audience numbers for content which contributes to these purposes
• The arrangements for children’s audio will have to change in light of very low audience numbers. The BBC Executive is developing a new proposal for consideration by the Trust
• The BBC Executive should develop plans to address the decline in usage of the CBBC website

Controller of BBC Children’s, Richard Deverell, said, “There can be no better stamp of endorsement on the work we are doing than from the parents and children who say they love and value what we do on CBeebies and CBBC. It’s a testament to the hard work, commitment and passion of everyone working on these services.”

What do you think of the BBC’s provision for children on TV, radio and the Internet?

Bounce: A new type of floor material that can keep kids safer

Barefoot Living has announced a new innovation in flooring. Designed for use in nurseries and playrooms, and with a range of bright and bold designs, Bounce is springy, seamless, easy to clean, and made from recycled material.

Designed by mums at the flooring company, Bounce is installed by Barefoot Living’s own expert fitters.

Company owner Dawn Gibbins MBE said that mums wanted something safe, sustainable and easy to look after.

“The floor is nice and springy, so it absorbs knocks and bumps, but it is still really hard-wearing and – because it’s seamless and a sealed surface – it’s easy to clean too.

“It is a great surface for children to stretch their little toes and walk barefoot.”

Barefoot Floors

PODCAST: The hassle-free children’s party

Download the kids’ party podcast to make your life easier on that special day

Your child’s party is one of the golden moments in life – both for you and them. But of course there’s a lot of planning to be done before hordes of excited children pour through your front door!

In order to make life a little easier we’ve prepared the Organix party podcast full of handy hints and four party games – complete with disco soundtrack supplied by our friends at Baby Loves Disco! There’s musical statues, pass the parcel and musical chairs to get everyone moving – then a tranquil game of sleeping lions when it’s time to wind things down again.

The podcast can literally be left to play and run the party – we’ve set it for a party of ten children so there are enough gaps for the winner to be chosen. Of course you can pause at anytime should you want to stop for a snack!

You can download an MP3 version or alternatively an AAC file that has various chapter information.

Have fun!

TV4Parents: online TV for parents goes live next week

I’ve just found out about a rather exciting new resource, due to launch next Thursday, 23rd October.

TV4Parents is an online forum, based in the UK, developed by Tomorrow’s Child, and aimed at parents, carers, and children aged 0-11.

This online TV styled web site will look at ways of parenting, offering hints, tips, advice, and a place for parents to share their experiences with others.

An ongoing nationwide survey – “Pressure Cooker Kids” – confirms that parents and children are under pressure to spend time together, deal with separation anxiety, and eat healthily and together.

A book and DVD will also be launched next week. “Creative Wellbeing” is written by education specialist Jacqueline Harding and medical advisor Dr Sanjay Chaudhuri, both who are heavily involved with Tomorrow’s Child and the new site.

Visit the site now to get a taste for what’s to come, and bookmark it, because it looks like it’s going to be a fantastic resource for anyone looking after children.

TV4Parents.com

Early Learning Centre gears up for Christmas with 450 new toys

The Early Learning Centre has announced a huge range of new toys coming into stock in plenty of time for Christmas this year.

As a special offer, customers buying any product from the Star Buys range will receive another free toy.

The Brilliant Start range of toys is designed specially for babies, featuring black and white designs with bold colours and graphics.

Toys such as the Brilliant Start Activity Table help to encourage babies’ visual development and boost their strength and co-ordination.

The ever-popular Classic range of toys are made from wood, tin, and fabric, and include the Tin Spinning Top and Rocking Horse.

A number of Christmas toys are also on offer to encourage children to use their imagination and creativity including the Snow Queen Palace, featuring towers and balconies. Along with the Magical Figure Set, this is a Christmas must have for imaginative children.

Early Learning Centre

3 in 5 parents couldn’t save their child’s life, survey finds

A survey of 2,500 mothers by UK supermarket Tesco suggests that 60% of new parents wouldn’t know what to do in an emergency where their child’s life was in danger.

Less than 10% of new parents have had child first aid training in the past 12 months, and 24% said that they badly needed a refresher course.

Read more

Vote for best kids’ activities in Britain, raise money for Children in Need

From 1st November, Britain’s parents (and indeed, anyone else) can vote for the best kids’ activities in the UK.

Every vote cast in November will see 5p donated to the BBC’s Children in Need appeal.

The What’Â’s On 4 Little Ones 2008 awards, sponsored by pioneering food company Organix, are now in their second year.

This year, the awards are bigger than ever, covering 20 different categories ranging from Best Antenatal Class to Best Messy Play Class.

The awards are divided into three categories: national, for activities that are available in more than one area of the UK; local, for activities that are based in one area of the UK, and a set of special awards.

Parents can vote online for the national awards. The other awards are being judged by an independent panel, which includes broadcaster, author and mother-of-two Alice Beer. All the winners will be announced in March 2008.

The awards also include the Organix Make A Difference Food Award, which
will go to any class or activity that has made a difference by introducing
healthy food choices.

WhatÂ’’s On 4 Little Ones co-founder Sam Willoughby said, ““We wanted to give parents a chance to say thank you to the many class teachers and activity organisers across the UK. We’ve gained such enjoyment from reading the nominations – so often activities provide a lifeline to parents”.”

There have already been more than 300 nominations for the awards, and
thereÂ’s still time to nominate your favourite local activity before the
closing date of October 31 2007.

Visit www.whatson4littleones.co.uk for more info.

Toddlers’ TV favourites to feature on new interactive web site for preschoolers

A new website – ClickAndPlay.com – has launched to encourage computer literacy amongst preschoolers, helping to boost their self-confidence at increasingly IT-centric schools.

To add to the fun, various hit TV characters, including Bob the Builder, feature on the site.

Users can sign up for a free subscription to the site, though it does require a PC-only piece of software to be downloaded and installed.

According to British Education Communication and Technology Agency (BECTA), the UK is ranked fourth in Europe for the highest number of internet connected computers in schools.

Alastair Gregory, MD of ClickandPlay, said that children shouldn’t spend hours in front of a computer, at the detriment of physical exercise and social skills, but that it’s as vital for preschoolers to learn how to use a computer mouse as it is how to hold a pencil.

“Parents can help prepare their child for school by adding computer time into their day-to-day play,” he said.
ClickandPlay features a range of interactive games that teach a child how to move a mouse around a screen, how to move forward and back to new pages, how to use a keyboard and how to send emails. Children love the email application as they can send a letter,– with their parents help, to their favourite character, and then receive a personalised e-mail in return, written in the characterÂ’’s tone of voice.

Other features include an art package that allows children to draw and paint in ClickandPlay. They receive backgrounds, stamps and animated stickers at the beginning of their subscription and can earn more as they do the activities and win stars. These can be used to make art that can be printed out or sent to the characters.

ClickAndPlay.com

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