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Not making friends tops list of parents’ worries about their children starting school

• A third of parents fear their child will not make friends
• Just one in ten are concerned about their academic progress
• Charity said that the first day at school can be more stressful for parents than children

Parents are more likely to worry about their child not making friends at school than they are about their youngster struggling with lessons, according to a poll.

It reveals that one in three parents (33 per cent) admit to being anxious about their child finding friends when they start school.

And just over one in ten (11 per cent) said that their main worry was that their son or daughter would not be able to keep up with the school work.


The same proportion were concerned that their youngster would not ask for help when they needed it, while the rest cited other worries

Action for Children, which commissioned the poll, said that a child's first day at school can be an anxious time, sometimes more so for parents than the pupils themselves.

Jan Leightley, the charity's executive director of operations said: "Our centres help them prepare youngsters for their first year at school by giving them a place to play with other children, to learn to make friends and to develop their language skills."

Previous research conducted by Action for Children of its own centre managers found that two fifths (41 per cent) said that they felt children were needing more help to reach basic milestones such as being toilet trained and following simple instructions.

The YouGov poll questioned 9,015 adults including 2,267 parents of children aged 18 or under between February 10-17


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2726356/Not-making-friends-tops-list-parents-worries-children-starting-school.html#ixzz3AYFfgSb0

World's first sensory restaurant for BABIES - Opens in London

World's first sensory restaurant for BABIES complete with digital menus and interactive menus opens doors Weeny Weaning Restaurant opened doors today in Clapham  - Features sensory area, digital menus and interactive eating areas - Aims to encourage children to adopt healthy eating habits early on


The world’s first sensory restaurant for babies, which aims to encourage healthy eating from a young age, has opened its doors today.


With the aim of helping mothers and fathers introduce their little ones to healthy eating habits early on, the Weeny Weaning Restaurant aims to help families make mealtimes fun through sensory play and expert advice.

The restaurant in Clapham features a dedicated sensory area where mini diners are encouraged to play and explore before taking their seats to tuck in.

'If you can involve your little ones in the food preparation process, such as giving them veggies and fruits to play with, it will make them more engaged from the start,' explained Consultant Infant Nutritionist Claire Baseley.

'Letting them see, touch and smell the food will make them feel involved and in return they will be more likely to try new tastes.'

Babies are then encouraged to try new flavours, in order to encourage them to discover and accept new foods and tastes, in the 'taste zone'.


Little ones will be seated in highchairs at interactive tables, from which they will be able to choose from their very own digital menu, allowing them to select their own mains and desserts.

Creators say that the colourful interactive menu features state-of-the-art technology, designed to be ideal for little fingers to tap and touch.

'The interactive menu is another great way of generating that important sensory engagement, by using visuals of fruit and vegetables to introduce babies to the ingredients they are about to munch on.


'They are able to look at colours and shapes and engage their senses visually, which will make them more excited about new shapes, textures and foods they try,' said Claire.

Depending on the number of times they tap a particular food icon over a 30-second period, the digital menu responds accordingly and the waiters bring the children their selected choice of food, which has been developed with advice from child nutritionists.

Speaking about the new restaurant, Claire, who worked on the menu, added: 'We understand that mums and dads sometimes find mealtimes tricky, and that it can take quite a few tries to familiarise any hungry little ones with a new taste or texture.


'We also know that by introducing little ones’ taste buds to a wide variety of different and exciting tastes, it can help encourage them to grow up to be good little eaters.


'That’s why it’s super important to try to introduce little ones to new foods, especially savoury vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower, every day during the first weeks of weaning.


Article Source Daily Mail :
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2649367/Worlds-sensory-restaurant-BABIES-complete-digital-menus-interactive-menus-opens-doors.html#ixzz33qIF4AJz