You will be offered a routine development review around 2 years and 4 months old. This may be an individual clinic appointment or a group. The group setting allows your child to play with other children whilst also being observed by our staff and individually assessed on all aspects of their development. Your child will also be assessed on their speech within this review. We will feed back to you individually and be avaliable for any concern or worries you may have about your childs development.
Please visit our Parenting support - the Solihull Approach webpage.
Tiny Happy People - have a look at this website for ideas on activities to do with your 2-3 year old that are fun, creative whilst also helping with their development.
Family Information Service/ Funded Childcare
This service provides a free database of childcare providers based in Derby City for parents to search for the type of childcare they can use for their children.
Find childcare in Derby - Derby City Council
You can also find out about childcare funding here: Funded early learning childcare for 9 month to 4 year olds - Derby City Council
Safety
Now your child is getting older, more mobile and inquisitive, its important to look at your home environment and ensure this is as safe as you can make it. Its often a good idea to get down on your knees and look at your home and what a child can see, what might be interesting to them.
ROSPA (Advice and information - RoSPA) has a lot of great advice on their website to help prevent accidents to children, general home safety, and safety relating to household cleaning products.
Please make sure you use these away from children, use a heat proof mat and ensure that they are always placed out of reach of a child. Straghtners can stay hot enough to burn a child for a long time after being turned off, and even hair straighters that are turned off can be appealing for their young minds. As well as the risk of burns, they often have long cables on them that can be a risk to young children.
These are in so many electronic devices now such as toys, remote controls, car keys, musical greeting cards and small electronic devices such as calculators and weighing scales.
Not only are they a choke risk, they can also cause serious internal damage if swallowed.
If you think your child has swallowed a button battery this is a medical emergency and they should be seen in A&E as a matter of urgency.
Button batteries – The dangers of button batteries and how to stay safe – Home Safety - RoSPA
Blinds on windows now tend to have a stick to open or close them since standards changed in 2014, them however some older blinds that have been installed for a while may have string or rope to adjust the blinds. Please make sure this is above reach of children and stored using a cleat on the wall. Move any furniture away from windows as children love to climb. This includs cots, beds, highchairs, and playpens.
Blind cord safety | Do you have any blinds in your home? - RoSPA
Every home should have smoke detectors fitted as per legal requirements. Smoke detectors keep children safe by alerting them to smoke. Its also a good idea to get them involved in testing your alarm every month and talk about what hearing the sound means and what they should do if they hear the sound.
All electrical equiptement should be stored away when not in use.
Plug socket covers are not receommended.
These should all be stored out of reach of children or in a locked cupboard. These often have brightly covered packaging and can be appealing to young children. Although a lot have safety caps on this is not enough to protect our children
Have a look at this Virtual Kitchen from ROSPA Household cleaning products - RoSPA
Derby City are working with RoSPA on their ‘Take Action Today Campaign’ to reduce accidents in the home related to cleaning products.
Ask your HV team for your free fridge magnet note pad full of safety advice along with a handy place for your notes.
Your children should be registered with a dentist now, to find a dentist please visit here: Find a dentist - NHS. Please be aware you may not be able to access one in your local area and it may not be possible to register yourselves and your children at the same practice.
(Note this information is on website just needs moving under this tile)
- Good oral health habits should be start at the beginning of a child’s life to stop dental problems in the future.
- You can protect your child’s teeth and gums by making sure they brush two times a day. Use a small headed toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste.
- Start brushing as soon as their first tooth appears. Do not rinse the toothpaste away with water or mouthwash. Use a grain of rice sized amount of toothpaste for under 3 years old and a pea-sized amount for over 3 years old.
- Do not give your child too much sugar. Sugar can cause them to become overweight or get holes in their teeth leading to pain.
- Do not have sugary snacks between meals. Do not give young children fizzy drinks or sugary juices. Do not add sugar or honey to milk bottles.
- Take your child to the dentist as soon as their first tooth appears.
Helpful links
Find a dentist tool on the NHS website – enter your postcode to find your nearest dental practice accepting children on the NHS (NHS dental treatment is free for under 18s).
Looking after your baby's teeth on the NHS website - advice for baby’s oral health.
Taking care of children's teeth on the NHS website - advice for children's oral health.
Baby teething symptoms on the NHS website - information about teething in babies.
A-Z oral health information on the Oral Health Foundation website (dentalhealth.org) - general advice for all ages.
When to start
This differs for all children and totally depends on the individual child. Most children will be showing signs of wanting to toilet train from 18 months to three years of age.
Try to avoid starting this if you have big changes coming up such as moving house, or having a new baby.
How to know when they are ready
- Your child needs to be physically ready
- They need to be able to sit on a potty and stand up when they have finished
- They need to be able to tell you what they want or need
- They need to be able to stay dry for an hour or two at a time
- They will start to be telling you when they are having a wee or a poo. This is a good sign that they are getting the feelings and the control needed to start toilet training.
How to get your child ready
- When changing their nappies get them to stand up and get them to lift their clothing to help you
- Talk about wee and poo. If they have a wet or dirty nappy talk to them about it
- Change your child's nappy in the bathroom so they associate the toilet with this time
- Start a reward system, maybe a sticker chart or lucky bag, and reward them when they use the potty or tell you they need the toilet
- Read a picture book to about toilet training with them.
If you need more support with toilet training contact your Health Visiting Team.
These are two really good videos you can show your toddler:
Please see eric.org for further information.
- Visit the Derby City Council website and follow link to Family Hub Derby – Parents – to view the ‘What’s On Guide’
- Start4Life
- Derby and Derbyshire Emotional Health and Wellbeing
- The Sleep Charity
