Nurture pretend play

I always find it amazing to watch young children play, particularly pretend play. It is fascinating to see a child develop an interest in one thing over another and to see their personality grow through play.  I prefer to keep children’s toys and games gender neutral and I bring this belief in to Writing for Tiny. Children should not be pigeon holed, particularly when it comes gender.  However, sometimes little girls and little boys will live up to stereotypes and so what? If a child wants to imitate their mummy or their daddy , then let it be. Allow them to express themselves, they are who they are.

I was a born mum, as you can see from the old family photo where I am tucking my teddies in. I loved to mind things. If it wasn’t my Baby Born doll it was a guinea pig or a Sylvanian family baby at the receiving end of my nurturing tendencies.This has shaped me as a nurse, a mother and the founder of a business centered around children. As a child I also had a number of ‘enterprises’. These included a baby sitting business, a colouring book business that my sister Clare and I started, and a trendy cafe in my mum’s garage that served the finest marshmallow kebabs.

There is no doubt that your childhood and how you play shapes who you are as an adult. I loved to nurture , to draw and to run a little business as a child, and it is exactly who I am today.

Children learn so much through pretend play. Pretending helps to  build skills in the essential child development areas such as social and emotional skills, speech and language skills, and cognitive skills.

            Nurture your Tiny one’s imagination:

• • Set up an area in your home in which a shop, a post office or hospital or even a car wash could be imagined up!
  • Cardboard boxes are always a good start.
  • Dust off those old clothes, shoes,bags, hats , ski boots…all welcome
  • Pots and pans, crockery, food containers can help any little chef create a culinary masterpiece
  • Teddies and dolls make excellent patients.
  • Blankets, or old sheets provide shelter from a storm or a roof in the jungle.
  • Materials such as postcards, photos , folders,  aprons, notepads, even old toilet rolls can all be used to set  a tiny person’s imagination on fire.

“You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.” 
― Plato

5 tips when working from home

Funnily enough , this is going to be a short post! I am posting after a long weekend of failed attempts to finish the next book whilst in the company of a teething Rosie.  I am currently working from home. I have other office space for Writing for Tiny but I feel that working from home is the best thing to do for Rosie. I own my business so I realise how lucky I am to be in a position to do so. Everybody , especially other mothers ask me how I do it. I must say it is becoming increasingly difficult as she gets older, but I am determined to make it work. Here are my 5 tips on how to make working from home work for you.

1.Set up your space: I have a little desk set up in a little alcove in our house. It is tucked away yet still in the hub of the home. It is dinky, but it works. It means that I don't have to clear my work away or risk a spill on my laptop.

2. Get dressed! I make the effort to dress as if I am going into an office setting( well, an office that allows Converse and tea dresses). I come from a nursing background and once that uniform was on I was instantly in the professional zone. How you are dressed affects your mindset. This is important not only because I sometimes hold meetings at my home office but it also gets me into the right zone. My work dresses may be covered in ink, Rosie's lunch and Sudocreme by the end of the day but that's all part of the job(s).

3.Have a routine: Babies love routine, and I don't blame them. Having a routine when working from home helps you to keep on track. A routine removes the need to make decisions daily, decisions which take up time and energy. As soon as you have set out your routine you have already made those decisions , thus helping you to stop procrastinating . Try to set out an achievable to do list too.

4. Ask for help: Working from home means that you are rather obviously, at home all day. You tend to get side tracked by the chores, the cooking , and of course the baby minding. You are not closing the door behind you in the morning and enabled to focus solely on work. That can be hard. You may feel over whelmed as your mum world and your work world collide. Ask for help. Tell your partner exactly how he /she can help. Take offers of help from others and remember you are just one being, you cannot do it all!

5. Don't be too hard on yourself: Running a business is not easy. Being a mother is not easy. Those two jobs under one roof is ....not easy! If you're doing one thing you think you should be doing another. There is a great illustrator called Grant Snider who illustrated this perfectly ( see below).  Be kind to yourself and take breaks. After the baby is in bed it is tempting to sneak downstairs and 'just do a few hours' of work. This can lead to going to bed at 4 am. I am guilty of this. Realistically , that may be necessary sometimes, but it is not sustainable. Get rest, eat well , get out of the home/office, see your friends and spend time with your family. It is all for them after all.