0 - 12 months

Practical parenting support

• Parenting Top Tips – Family Links Nurturing Programme – ( A range of top tips to help you deal with challenging behaviour.
• Baby Wants– Activities you can do with a new born baby.
• The Dad Pad (Dad  Matters) –Providing dads to be with the knowledge and practical skills they need to support their partners and give their baby the best possible start in life.
• Supporting new dads and partners during the Covid-19 pandemic –  Tips on how to bond with your new baby, and where you can find support.
• Family Links– Free downloads with practical tips and ideas for parents.
• The Communication Trust– A range of support and advice for parents of children and young people who struggle to communicate because they have speech, language and communication needs, as well as supporting all children and young people to communicate to the best of their ability.
• Baby Buddy app– Guiding you through your pregnancy and the first 6 months following your baby’s birth. It is designed to help you look after your baby’s mental and physical health, as well as your own.
• Action for Children DOTS– Helpful tips for parents of children aged under 5 as well as one on one chat support.
• NSPCC Support for parents– Parenting tips on all stages of children’s lives, as well as advice on how to deal with difficult situations.

When a child feels their emotional and physical needs are recognised and met by parents and caregivers, they feel secure and confident about their place in the world and their sense of themselves and others.

A secure bond with parents and caregivers helps children to:

• Feel safe and secure.
• Learn to manage their feelings and regulate their emotions.
• .Feel confident to learn, play and explore from a safe base.
• Have empathy and compassion for others.
• Develop long term relationships with adults and peers alike.

Developing a bond with your child

The following resources help parents understand why a strong bond with their children is important and shares ideas on how to develop this bond.

• HelpGuide– A wide range of evidence-based information and self-help tools on secure attachment and bonding.
• Getting it right from the start– A video providing information and advice about bonding and attachment with your baby through pregnancy and with a newborn baby.
• Helping Your Baby Get the Best Start in Life– A video teachings parents how to create a secure attachment bond with their baby and overcome challenges that make connecting difficult.
• The Social Baby– A video about how to socialise with your baby at birth.
• Still Face Experiment– A video about the importance of interacting with your baby.
• Understanding your baby– A leaflet produced by the Institute of Health Visiting on understanding your baby.
• Attachment Parenting– Advice and support on how to develop a great relationship between parent and child.
• Special time together leaflet– Ideas on how to make the most of out special time with your baby.
• Playing together leaflet– Tips on what babies enjoy when you are playing together.

Communication is at the heart of everything we do. It is central to our lifelong learning, confidence, our work, friendships, and having interests that we enjoy.

During a child’s first five years, this is particularly important as we want children to be ready for the transition into an education setting, e.g. school and nursery, and to have their basic needs met. Where children face difficulties with their speech, language or communication, they may find it harder in nursery/school to make friends or to stay calm.

Parents have an important role in supporting their children’s speech, language and communication, and can help develop these areas in a number of ways, including:

• Interaction and talking with your baby/child.
• Managing the child’s environment, setting consistent limits and clear expectations and ensuring routines are predictable (all of which can help decrease the opportunities for negative emotions to build up).
• Recognising and helping children understand their emotions.

It is important to remember that children do develop at different rates and that some children may need additional support. If you have any concerns about your child’s development, contact your health visitor.

Communicating with your child

The following websites and resources may be useful for you:

• Tiny Happy People– A range of information, ideas and activities supporting speech, language and communication from pregnancy to age 5 years.
• I CAN’s Talking Point– Provides information to help you understand and support children and young people’s speech, language and communication.
• 10 top tips to support speech, language and communication skills.
• The Communication Trust– A range of support and advice for parents of children and young people who struggle to communicate because they have speech, language and communication needs as well as supporting all children and young people to communicate to the best of their ability.
• The Literary Trust – Offers a range of activities for children from birth up to age 12.
• Small Talk– A booklet explaining how children learn to talk, from birth to age 5.
• BookTrust– A range of resources and support to help children and families develop a love of reading.
• Book Trust: Dual language books–Information and advice on how to access dual language books.
• Baby Buddy app– Guiding you through your pregnancy and the first 6 months following your baby’s birth. It is designed to help you look after your baby’s mental and physical health, as well as your own.

Take a look at the materials listed below to help you develop your baby’s speech and communication skills.

• Helping my understanding and talking
• Helping my attention and listening
• Helping my speech sounds
• Happy without my dummy
• Sharing books.

Children’s brains change a lot as they grow, and these changes can influence children’s behaviour and how they respond in different situations.

Just like with adults, children’s behaviour can be affected by experiences and environment and/or their parents / carers own life experiences.

However, it is possible to describe what behaviour should look like at different ages and in different situations. Children will not always understand when their behaviour is appropriate or not appropriate, and parents can help them to do this in a positive way.

It is important to remember that every child matures at a different pace. In particular, children with additional needs may not stick to age guides.

General behaviour and development support

• Early Years Development Matters– A booklet on a child’s development and what parents can do to support them through the first five years of their lives.
• Developmental and emotional milestones leaflet– A comprehensive overview of developmental and emotional milestones from 0 to 18 years. There are also a range of websites and resources on child behaviour.
• NHS Choices– Helpful advice on how to respond to a range of child behaviour.
• Action for Children’s DOTS– A range of really helpful tips for parents of children aged under 5 as well as one on one chat support.
• NSPCC Positive Parenting– Practical advice and tips for positive parenting techniques that work well for children, from babies to teenagers.
• Circle of Security Programme– Resources for parents from the Circle of Security programme, an American evidence-based programme that supports effective parent-child attachment and bonding.
• Barnardos’ Your Young Child’s Behaviour: How you can help– This leaflet covers a variety of age groups up to five years old and is currently free to download.
• Sarah Ockwell-Smith– Sarah is a parenting expert and runs a website that includes a range of podcasts and vlogs. There is also a free weekly newsletter.

Tantrums

How to cope with tantrums (NSPCC) – Tips and advice to help you manage temper tantrums and bad behaviour.

Parenting Top Tips (Family Links Nurturing Programme) – A range of top tips to help you deal with challenging behaviour that your children may display.

Positive parenting (NSPCC) – Practical advice and tips for positive parenting techniques that work well for children, from babies to teenagers.

• Five ways to wellbeing (NHS) – Trying these five things could make you feel more positive and able to get the most out of life.
• Mental health and parenting (NSPCC)– Help and advice for parents and families dealing with mental health problems.
• If you’re in an unhappy place (Wigan Council) – A range of advice and guidance to help you make positive and healthy life choices.
• Alcohol, Drugs and Parenting (NSPCC)– Support and advice for parents or carers who are concerned about their alcohol or drug use.
• Controlling anger guide (NHS)– A self-help guide from the NHS to help parents control their anger.
• Handle with care (NSPCC)– Why parents should never shake their baby and ways they can soothe them when they cry. There are tips on how to cope when the crying does not stop or seems too much to handle.

• Two hug day– A guide for parents on how to speak to their children about separation and divorce
• Separation and divorce (NSPCC)– Your rights around child contact and advice for supporting children during a separation
• Zero to Three– An online resource for parents who are living apart and parenting together.

No parent gets it 100% right 100% of the time. All parents across the borough can access FREE online courses, endorsed by Wigan Council, to help you to connect more effectively with your child and give you more confidence to deal with those tricky situations.

There’s a number of courses to choose from to suit different age groups, including a course for parents of children and young people with additional needs, and you can complete them online at your own pace.

Find more information here and use code DEAL 2030 to get more info and access the course for free.

• The Solihull Approach online parenting course