Every year in March we celebrate Tots Play's Anniversary week, by giving back to the community and fundraising for charity. Tots Play classes were started way back in 2009, making this year our 14th Anniversary! 14 years of bringing Tots Play to families, from those first parents and children in South Wales, to now extending over the seas in Dubai. back to the north of Scotland to the Isle of Wight, from North Wales across to Essex, and lots more in between. The focus of our celebrations through the month were special jungle themed classes, in honour of our lovable class mascot, Totsy Monkey ..read more

Babies cannot recognise colours at birth; in fact despite the amount of colourful baby toys on the market, children only start to distinguish colours properly when they are around 18 months old. Interestingly this is the same time that their ability to differentiate between sizes and shapes also develops. Young babies respond particularly well to strong, bold colours and shapes especially black and white. Understand the challenge Just because your toddler reaches 18 months it doesn’t mean they can suddenly competently see the difference between objects yet or use the correct adjectives to des ..read more

Your toddler’s brain has been through huge physical and psychological changes in its short little life span. The first three years are vital in brain development, during this time narrow pathways are constantly connecting in the brain. These connections carry electrical impulses between the brain cells; this is the process of wiring the brain, the results of which will influence your child’s entire life. The brain never stops changing but it is in these formative years that skills like language, problem solving, reasoning and even a sense of moral value is developed. As your child experiences ..read more

YOU are NOT alone. We are here for you! How are you doing today? Feeling a bit tired or fed up? Wishing you could get out to a class with your little one? Worried about stepping through that door? What if nobody talks to you? What if you don't know what to do or baby cries when they're meant to be quiet? There are a few things that might be stopping you from getting through that door and in this post we hope to alleviate some of these concerns, reassure you that they are very normal, and give you the confidence to take that first step. 1) What if I can't get out the door on time to make the cl ..read more

It can be tricky to know what to get the littlest members of the family for Christmas can't it? They grow and learn so quickly that you want to make sure you're giving something that they will not only love but will support their development in lots of ways too. Fun and Learning The great news is here at our Tots Play shop we have lots of products and bundles that are a bit different to the usual "toys" you find for little ones. As well as favourite resources used at our classes we have also added lots of new products to our shop that fit with our ethos of promoting play that allows for curios ..read more

As you hold your new-born baby, you probably find it hard to imagine them chatting away but it isn’t long before they are forming words and then sentences, in fact soon you will look back and wonder what it was like when they were quiet! Even though their language development might not be the first mile stone you see, it does begin long before they actually start talking and as a parent you can do so much to help them from day one. Here are our 5 top tips for helping your child’s language development. 1) Read Your baby may not be able to read yet, but they are learning so much from the experie ..read more

Babies are fascinated by light, colour and pattern and will watch and follow the edges of shapes and patterns very closely. Try some of these simple activities to make the most of this interest and help your baby develop his or her focus and sense of sight. Change the Light Gather a small selection of brightly coloured or reflective objects and let your baby look at and examine the objects in turn taking as much time as he or she wants. Now change the light in the room, either by moving towards or away from a window or adjusting a dimmer switch or switching a lamp on or off, then offer the ite ..read more

At Tots Play we know that young children learn best when using their whole body and all their senses. They naturally learn from the world around them and as both a baby and toddler your little one is a sensory sponge, soaking up everything they can from all the experiences and opportunities they are presented with. While we want to encourage our toddler’s curiosity and desire to explore, any parent to a little person will know this also means being vigilant during their playtimes; as everything goes in their mouth! Its innocent enough, they just want to use their taste sense, and the sensory r ..read more

Guest Post by Karen Wood, Founder of Kidvelo Balance Bikes. Play matters. It is how babies and children primarily learn about the world around them and develop skills in the first 5 years of their life, and the core of what Tots Play is all about. Like so many things in our lives though, the way children play has not escaped the impact of the pandemic, especially for those who are now toddlers and pre-schoolers, and this has the potential to have an effect on development over the longer term if this doesn’t change. Karen Wood, founder of Kidvelo Balance Bikes explains more about the problem an ..read more

March is always a fun month at Tots Play as it's the month our very first classes launched, way back in 2009, making this year our 13th Anniversary! 13 years of bringing Tots Play to families, from those first parents and children in South Wales, to now extending across the UK from the north of Scotland to the Isle of Wight, from Wales across to Essex, and lots more in between. That's a lot of Tots over the years! Tots Play is all about putting smiles on those babies faces, and giving parents and families more confidence in themselves and their parenting, and we are hugely proud of what we do ..read more