toddlers

Westbank's Kidzone Childcare Manager Lucy Elliott with one of the toddlers

Devon preschool graded ‘Good’ in its first year of operation

A small, friendly preschool near Exeter that welcomed its first intake of young children last spring has already received a good grade.

In a recent Ofsted inspection, the Kidzone at Exminster - operated by local charity Westbank Community Health and Care - was described as a ‘Good Provider’.

The charity’s preschool for Over 2s opened its doors at the end of April 2022, with just three children attending over three days. Since then, it has quadrupled its numbers and extended its opening hours. The facility now looks after 12 young children over five days and has recently...

Christmas Winter Wonderland at Kiddi Caru Day Nursery in Sowton, Exeter

Event Date: 
03/12/2019 - 2:30pm to 6:00pm
Venue: 
Emperor Way, Exeter Business Park, Exeter, EX1 3QS

Santa will be a little busy on Christmas Eve, so why not come and meet him at our magical Christmas Winter Wonderland at Kiddi Caru Day Nursery and Preschool in Sowton, Exeter on Tuesday 3rd December from 2:30pm - 6pm. Bring the whole family for FREE to join in with our seasonal fun to get you in the Christmas spirit, meet Santa and receive your free Christmas gift. Any kind donations on the day will be gratefully received for Home-Start UK, our chosen charity who support families across the UK. **Don’t forget to ask about the special offers we will be running for all new families that...

FREE Discovery Week at Kiddi Caru Day Nursery in Exeter, Sowton

Event Date: 
18/09/2017 - 10:00am to 23/09/2017 - 1:30pm
Venue: 
Kiddi Caru Day Nursery, Emperor Way, Exeter Business Park, Exeter, EX1 3QS

Unlock your child’s imagination at our FREE Discovery sessions from Monday 18th to Saturday 23rd September

Monday to Friday: 10-11am and 2-3pm Saturday: 10.30am to 1 pm

This is the perfect opportunity for your little one to explore a range of learning and educational activities, with access to a fantastic range of toys and resources - all in a fun environment. Each event is a great opportunity for you too to learn what nursery life is like and to speak to our dedicated and experienced practitioners.

Our Discovery Week will be packed full of exciting activities,...

New 'Tinder style' friendship app for mums

Authored by Francesca
Posted: Thu, 03/16/2017 - 11:05am

Mush is a new free app that connects mums with other local, like-minded mums and generates friendships.

It’s mission is to make the lives of mums more sociable and fun, enabling meet-ups in real life with other mums who can support each other.

A recent study commissioned by Mush found that 80% of mums prefered to go to a playgroup with a friend, 50% go to shops for adult interation, 22% have only one other mum friend and 60% go through a full day without adult interation.

Mush was born through the experience of its founders Katie & Sarah, who had two small...

Baby and toddler safety campaign relaunches

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Fri, 06/03/2016 - 10:41pm

A Trading Standards campaign to help prevent babies and toddlers from being injured at home is being relaunched on 6 June.

Every year in England 60 children are killed, 450,000 attend A&E and 40,000 are admitted to hospital as a result of accidents in the home.

The Buy Wise Be Safe campaign aims to prevent injuries by providing clear advice on ways to make the home safer and what to look out for when buying safety equipment.

Originally developed by Trading Standards South West in 2005, the initiative was delivered across the region using a video pack through...

Raisins can predict a toddler’s future academic ability

A simple test using a raisin can predict how well a toddler will perform academically at age eight, according to research conducted at the University of Warwick.

Using just the piece of dried fruit and a plastic cup they have devised a test based on how long a 20-month old child can wait to pick up a raisin in front of them. The toddlers were given a raisin that was placed under an opaque cup within easy reach. After three training runs toddlers were asked to wait until they were told (60 seconds) they could touch and eat the raisin. During the study it was found that those who...

CrossCountry and Mumsnet users offer top tips for family travel

With the school holidays in full swing, families across Britain will be off on their travels - but it doesn’t have to spell out the beginning of traffic jams, squabbling kids and endless toilet breaks.

Research from leading train company CrossCountry reveals that some parents are opting for train services when travelling with children – with 43% of parents agreeing that they are able to have more stimulating conversations with their children on a train than if they were travelling by car.

Just under half (48%) of Exeter parents say they are able to have more stimulating...

Give your toddler a head start in hand hygiene

New research reveals key times to teach your little one simple hand hygiene habits. Insights from new research sponsored by Dettol have found that play time makes up almost half of a toddler's day, with 88% of mothers saying they like to spend that play time in the garden or in a park. With Global Hand Wash Day (15th October) fast approaching, it's important to highlight that hand hygiene is the first-line of defence against germs. So it’s not surprising that almost 75% of mums ensure that their child washes their hands after playing outside, however it means that over a quarter (26%)...

Free childcare available to some toddlers who turn two this month

Parents of toddlers turning two this April are being encouraged by the Deputy Prime Minister to check if they can get free childcare.

From this September, 15 hours of free childcare a week are being made available to around 130,000 two-year-olds from lower income backgrounds across England. The first of these eligible toddlers will have their second birthdays this month.

Local authority figures show that 9,900 children in the South West will be eligible this September.

Nick Clegg, Deputy Prime Minister, said:

“High quality childcare can make a huge...