Everyday real-life activities such as making shopping lists are the most valuable way to encourage confident literacy skills, says Anne O'Connor.
A simple interaction shows symbolic play and social interaction between toddlers, says Anne O'Connor.
Two-way exchanges between babies and adults help build up language and brain development. Anne O'Connor considers how practitioners can create more opportunities for them.
Simple physical play with a child's carer can stimulate a function that is linked fundamentally to language and sensory development, says Anne O'Connor.
Tuning in to children's imaginative play will encourage language development, says Anne O'Connor.
Families with disabled children have long struggled for access to support and inclusive services, but that should soon change under a new policy outlined by Kelly Hunt and Neil de Reybekill.
Shared singing with a carer with whom a child is securely attached is an important learning resource, says Anne O'Connor.
The important role men play in children's lives is increasingly recognised. Anne O'Connor explains how settings can better involve them.
Dr Katherine Runswick-Cole is a senior research fellow in disability studies and psychology at the Research Institute for Health and Social Change, Manchester Metropolitan University.
While children will squabble from time to time, they are usually practising negotiating techniques. The skill for adults is to know when to step in or step back and let them get on with it, explains...
