Feel the grass - Lewisham Children & Family Centre

My name is Anne I am an Early Years Practitioner and trained Henry Facilitator and I run the Little Explorers sessions. We have been using Five to Thrive to look at how your baby’s brain grows better, when you do five simple things that feed the brain RESPOND, CUDDLE.RELAX, PLAY, and TALK

Last week I spoke about going outside with your baby. Well, how did you get on? Have you taken your baby outside? How did you feel? Have you met any of your family or friends?

I have been for a few lovely walks that I have discovered and met a friend in a park for a picnic. It was so nice to see her face to face and have a chat, sharing news with someone is so important. Realising that they’ve felt the same about the Pandemic helps make us feel we are not alone.

What if when you meet your family and friends they do not listen to you or just ignore you, that might make you feel upset, or show that they did not care? Would you keep trying or give up? It is not nice is it?

I had previously mentioned about the benefits of RESPONDING to you baby (Five to Thieve) I mentioned the benefits of going outside for yourself and your baby, how important it is to try going out for a walk every day.

When you do go for a walk with your baby, why not try this activity?

Feel the Grass (RESPOND)

Take off your baby’s shoes or socks and let them feel the grass with their toes. This is one of the easiest ways to enjoy outdoor play with your baby.

Some babies will love this others may not, so watch your child’s cues. If they do not like it then introduce it a bit more slowly.

Let them touch it with their hands, instead of their feet. Look around your environment and see what other textures would be interesting for your baby to touch. Here are some examples of fun things that you can have your baby touch when outside:

Grass
Sand
Pine cones
Water
Leaves
Rocks
Tree bark
Flowers

REMEMBER NEVER LEAVE YOUR BABY ALONE WHEN THEY ARE EXPLORING THESE NATURAL MATERIALS

“Babies are aware and mesmerised by sounds and movement and there is no shortage of unique sounds, colours, lights, sensations and textures to take in and experience outdoors” www.babycenter.com

OWL Babies Courses

The ever changing nature of outdoors is so important for babies as they learn and gain experience through their senses.

Our OWL Babies courses for babies under 6 months provide time to learn how spending time outside with your baby supports healthy brain development, you can find out more about the course here – keep an eye on our Timetable to dates for our next course.

For info on Five to Thrive and more activity ideas see the links below:

“My child and I have really enjoyed coming to Little Explorers. It has helped my child to get used to see other babies and have interaction with them, which has been really important for him after the pandemic.”

“It's absolutely fab to be able to have access to all of the Domestic Abuse services in one place and to just click on a link to get to the website.”

“The Children Centre is our favourite place to come, we have been coming here since my child was 6 months old, he is now 4 years old and is still enjoying! Well done staff”

“I have just found the ‘taking care of ourselves’ section, which is massively important for us all, especially compassion fatigue.”

“The help and support that my family support worker gave me was above and beyond, she was always there to listen to me and make me feel like I was good enough and I was being heard.”

“The Outreach Team have such outgoing, friendly and fun personalities and made each Outdoor Learning session a great experience.”

“The Explorers session has helped my child a lot with his communication and his development. It’s really been impactful for him; we are really grateful to have this opportunity to attend the session and meet other parents as well.”

“The sessions help my daughter with speaking English, as well as helping her to listen and follow directions. I am very happy, my baby is very happy, and I feel relief when I come.”

“The Children Centre is very beneficial for my child, she has developed lots of skills e.g., sharing toys and naming colours. Also, the staff are very friendly and helpful.”

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