Today I’m welcoming Hayley from Mum and Reu…..
How to help your child grow and develop as a stay at home mum
One of the comments that annoys me most is that your child will not develop as well socially. For me this simply isn’t true, I believe children are born with personality traits and how we teach and nurture them sets them on the right path for the future.
Below are some activity’s you can do as a stay at home mum to help your child flourish.
Read to your child everyday
Reading is one of the best ways to help with your child’s developing language, you can read rhyming books, story books or interactive books such as touchy-feely and lift the flap books.
Go outside
Try to spend some time outside each day (weather permitting). Children love to be outside, it gives them the opportunity to explore new environments and take in new sights, smells and sounds. Outside play helps to develop muscle strength and co-ordination along with self confidence.
Attend groups or activities
Try to attend at least one class or activity a week to give your child the opportunity to socialise with children of a similar age. Even at a young age when children only parallel play its great for them to interact with others.
Sensory play
Set up little sensory play sessions at home, this can be anything from water play, ice play, messy play, sensory bottles, musical instruments and busy baskets. The list goes on and you can use household products so its cheap and a great way to entertain your child and set their senses to work. Pintrest is great for ideas.
Independent play
Allow your child to have some independent play each day as its important for them to learn to entertain themselves and explore alone safely.
Instill discipline
This will be different for everyone but it’s important to set boundary’s and teach your child what is right and wrong. It’s important to be clear in your approach and to stick to your guns. Children love to test boundary’s so we need to be careful not to send out mixed signals.
Educational toys
Choose toys that have a purpose, stacking toys, shape sorters, puzzles, number counting, threading. These are all fun ways for your child to learn and perfect their skills.
There is no right or wrong when it comes to parenting, everyone has their own style and ways. All of the above can be done on a budget and all can be tailored to your own approach. You will soon get a feel for what your child gets the most out of and you will enjoy watching your child flourish and grow.
Hayley is 28 and a first time mum to my little boy Reuben. I love to document our journey through pictures and writing so i have memory’s to look back on in the future. I was born and raised in North Yorkshire but now live in Hampshire with my husband. I have two brothers and would love three children of my own one day.
You can read more of Hayley’s work on her blog, Twitter and Instagram.