How to Raise an Inquisitive Child?

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All children will have a natural curiosity for all things new in the world. But it is important to fulfill this curiosity to help ensure your child develops as an inquisitive child. With help from a Private School in Hertfordshire, here are some tips when it comes to raising an intuitive child. 

Ask Questions 

You want to make your home feel like a place where any kind of question can be asked. You both want your children to ask questions about something that they don’t understand, but you should also ask them questions. Ask them about what they are doing, or ask them questions about how they feel about certain things like stories or new experiences. This will encourage your child to be a more open child, keen to ask about the things that they don’t understand. Try never to be dismissive about the questions that they ask, and you can help their curiosity flourish. 

Go to New Places 

While it is important to have a sense of routine a lot of the time, shake-ups to your child’s routine can help keep their mind sharp and keen. Going to new places in particular is a great way to capture your child’s attention and provoke new questions in them about the world around them. 

Be a Role Model 

If you display a sense of curiosity yourself, your child will be quick to copy your attention to being inquisitive about the world. If they see that you yourself like to research new ideas, and learn about things that you don’t understand, they will feel encouraged to continue with their own sense of curiosity. You can also inspire their inquisitive mind by asking open-ended questions in general conversation, demonstrating your own fascination with how your child views the world. 

A child who is constantly curious will develop into a young adult who is always open to new experiences and thrill in discovering new things. Who wouldn’t want to encourage that?

Little Tikes Fairy Cozy Coupe - Review

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Little Tikes are a much-loved brand, one which has provided years of fun for children, not just in this country but across the world too. This year Little Tikes celebrate their 50th birthday which I think speaks volumes. They must be doing something right to still be a household name so many years later.

To celebrate their birthday I was offered a selection of different toys for the kids to review. I could have chosen a sandpit, or a water table, both of which looked amazing but it had to be the Cozy Coupe! Does anything scream Little Tikes more than their iconic Cozy Coupe? Their ride on cars have been around since 1979 (longer than I've been alive) and 40 years later children are still drawn to them, like a moth to the flame! They've certainly stood the test of time.

Cozy Coupe's have evolved over the years, making slight improvements here and there but the main thing to change is how we aren't limited to just one type of car anymore. The classic red Cozy Coupe is still available but there's now so many other different colours and designs to choose from. There's a Cozy Coupe perfect for every child, whether it's the dinosaur one, the princess, the fireman, the taxi cab, the police car and so on. I decided to go all out and opted for the Fairy Cozy Coupe for the purpose of this review.

The Cozy Coupe arrived in a large cardboard box and needed to be assembled. It was a little trickier to put together than we anticipated, however, I left that part to Nick and I put myself on sticker duty. Most of the Fairy details are applied by adding numerous stickers, in fact, even the stickers had stickers on. It took around an hour to put together but it was worth every minute because I know that it's well put together, sturdy, robust and will last the children years.

Features:

Front wheels spin 360˚ for easy maneuverability

Parent push-handle and safety floorboard for push-along mode

Remove the floorboard to switch to child-powered mode

Toot the working horn for role play fun

Turn the clicking ignition switch

Open and close the fuel cap

High seat back and cup holders in the rear

It didn't take long before Ava was glued to the Cozy Coupe's seat, she was raring to go! In fact, she was sat in the driver's seat before it had a roof or a set of wheels and when it was time to give it a test drive she was straight out the door. At just two years old she finds it easy to climb in and our the car and took to the steering wheel and horn straight away.

Not only does Ava spend time "driving" around in her new Cozy Coupe but it's also a catalyst for so many role-play scenarios for her too. She likes to drive off to the shops to buy some snacks, or she declares that she's going to work to see her Daddy. She also likes to grab her little handbag and one of her dolls to take out in the car with her. It's so cute to watch her play.

The kids have only had the Cozy Coupe for a few weeks but if I'd have bought it I would already have my money worth! It's played with constantly. If Ava isn't in it then Noah and his best friend are taking turns to have a go. It's become quite the attraction on our street, it's like a moth to the flame, just like I mentioned earlier.

The Little Tikes Fairy Cozy Coupe is suitable for children from 18 months of age and retails at £49.99. Visit the Cozy Coupe section on the Little Tikes website to find your nearest stockist.

- We were sent this product for the purpose of this review, however, all opinions are my own.

5 Reasons Why Canterbury is a perfect place to start a Business

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You grew up in the ’90s and 2000’s when the IT industry was gaining momentum. This naturally inspired you to become an entrepreneur as you are impressed by the number of success stories. You are fascinated by Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg of this world.

You have made up your mind back then that you want to be a business owner one day. That is why instead of following the traditional path, which is to study hard in school, go to college or university to get a degree and get your dream job, you decided to take the path which was chosen by a handful number of people.

Once you completed school and college, you decided to pursue your passion for starting a business. You started planning and working on it. There are a number of considerations that go into starting a new business. One of them is location. If your business is not in the right spot, you might struggle to attract more people to your business. After doing a lot of research you decided to start a business in Canterbury.

After years of hard work, you managed to establish your own startup company. Sadly, that was not the end of the road but instead, it was the beginning of a long journey. As time passed, you realized that decision of starting a business in Canterbury was one of the best decisions you have ever made. In this article, you will learn about the reasons why Canterbury is a perfect location for your business.

5 Reasons Why Canterbury is a Great Place To Start a Business

Here are five reasons which will convince you that Canterbury is a perfect place to start a business.

1. Large Talent Pool

One of the first things that you will notice when you start a business in Canterbury is the large talent pool. Unlike other cities, finding and hiring talented individuals is extremely easy in Canterbury. This makes it easy for you to make a team and deliver excellent products and services to your valued customers.

Don’t believe me? Just put a job posting and see how many different applicants apply for that position. Since the University of Kent is located just around the corner, you can also tap into young talented fresh graduates who are looking to jumpstart their careers. Some are even willing to relocate and use STORED Self Storage with their FREE collection service to temporarily or permanently store items. You will have a continuous influx of fresh graduate every year who is looking for a new job. This can also come in handy especially if you want to hire people for internships or beginner-level or mid-level jobs.

2. Huge Customer Base

Irrespective of whether your business operates in a business-to-business or business-to-consumer model, you will never be short of customers. Canterbury has a huge customer base that your business can take advantage of. That is why you will see more and more businesses opening in Canterbury and many of them have been operating for years. This also shows the sustainability and continuous influx of customers as very few businesses close in Canterbury.

Additionally, Canterbury is also considered one of the wealthiest cities in the UK. This means that businesses not only have a massive customer base but that customer base is rich, has a lot of disposable income and more likely to spend money on items. All this means that you can generate a lot of revenue if your business operates in the Canterbury area.

Since most of the businesses are located so close to one another, it is much easier to form partnerships with them and build long-term relationships with them. Currently, Canterbury’s population is 160,000 and we can expect it to grow, which means that the demand for businesses selling products and services will also go up with it.

Canterbury is also famous as a tourist destination. This means that there are millions of international travelers making their way to the city every year. In fact, statistics show that more than 7 million people visit Canterbury each year. As a business, this is a great opportunity as you can also attract, promote and sell your products and services, which further expands your customer base. All this makes Canterbury a great choice for businesses that follow a business-to-consumer model.

3. Business Activities

If you are a new business who have recently opened their doors for customers then, you might find Canterbury a great place too because it gives you tons of networking opportunities. The city hosts major business events such as business conferences where you get a chance to meet thousands of new people and hundreds of new businesses.

It can also be a great learning experience for a new business as they can learn a lot of things from the experiences of well-established businesses and qualified individuals who have been there and done that. By learning from other business mistakes, you can stop yourself from making the same mistakes and learn the lessons the easy way instead of the hard way. Attend as many of these conferences and business events as you can because it can help you forge relationships and get new clients.

4. Support

When you are new to entrepreneurship, you might need support to run your business. Finding that kind of support is not easy in most cities. Thankfully, Canterbury is not one of them. Canterbury 4 Business is a company that offers support to new businesses and gives them access to mentors who can guide them in overcoming the obstacles which their businesses might be facing. Moreover, they can also help you make the right business decisions at the right time, helping your business capitalize on opportunities that come your way.

Finding investors or raising funds can be tough for small businesses especially those who are new to the game as they are usually facing a financial crisis but Canterbury has a solution for that too. If your business is located in Canterbury then you can take advantage of Kent and Medway business funds to get a loan at 0% interest. You can secure a loan of fifty thousand pounds or less depending on your need. This is great news for small businesses who are finding it difficult to raise money or attract investors to keep their businesses afloat.

5. Healthy Competition

Remember I mentioned that there are many established businesses operating in Canterbury and many new ones starting out at the beginning of this article. This also means that competition is higher in Canterbury. Most people will consider this a negative for businesses as the more competition you have, the fewer customers will you get. Thankfully, that is not the case as there is healthy competition between businesses in Canterbury.

Yes, you might have more pressure due to the competitive market but that also pushes you to deliver your best. You know that if you don’t deliver a great product or service experience, people have alternatives that they can take advantage of. As a result, you end up maintaining the highest quality standards for your products or services. This will eventually benefit your business in the long run. You can learn new skills faster and learn to survive and thrive in a competitive business environment.

Which reason convinced you to do business in Canterbury? Share it with us in the comments section below.

My Sunday Photo - 14/52

How To Guide Your Child Through Recovery After An Accident

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As a parent, one of your greatest joys is your little one. They come as a complete package of joy, mess, and humour, meaning that your hands are always full. For this reason, one of the primary objectives should be to keep them safe and out of harm’s way. However, no matter how hard you try, the reality is that accidents happen at times. If your child ever does get into an accident, it’s important that you know what to do and how to help them recover. Here are some tips that will help if you’re ever in such a situation.

1. Get Them the Right Medical Care
The first course of action that you should take to help your child recover after an accident is to ensure they receive the right medical care. It’s crucial that you know the impact of their injuries and have them properly examined. Even if it was just a minor accident, it’s always better to be safe than sorry. After reporting to the right authorities, you can take them to the emergency room or their local GP.

2. Deal with the Legal Side of Things
As soon as an accident happens in a public place, it’s crucial that you take down as much information as possible. If there are any witnesses, keep their contact details so that they can provide a statement if necessary. Additionally, you should take pictures, as they may be needed for police reports or your insurance. In the event that the accident was no fault of your own, contact The Compensation Experts as they can give you the right advice. They focus on helping victims of claims get the compensation and legal support they need.

3. Show Them Love and Attention
When children are ill, it can be harder for them to deal with. In light of this, give them the physical and emotional support they need in order to help them recover. This could mean that you have to administer more kisses and cuddles than usual. You can never show your kids enough affection, so the goal should be to be there by their side and help them meet their needs. It’s also crucial that you take the time out to listen to what they have to say. Accidents can be mentally and emotionally difficult on your child, so to avoid any negative mental impacts, encourage them to talk.

4. Try Natural Remedies
Aside from following the doctor’s orders, you should also try natural remedies when helping your child recover. There are different natural pain remedies that you could consider such as cherries or exercise. For one, cherries contain a compound called anthocyanins which could possibly help reduce pain. If your child has a sweet tooth, then try pineapples as they have a powerful enzyme called Bromelain which can help reduce inflammation as well as pain.

5. Be Patient

Another thing that you should do to guide your child through recovery is to learn to be patient. It can be a challenging time for you as a parent and your child so you may have to be more tolerant than you usually would be. Reassure them that they’ll feel better soon, and they’ll recover in no time.

Do you have any tips that you'd like to share?

Wonder Park Toy Collection - Review

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Wonder Park is a new animated children's movie brought to you by Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Movies, set to be released in the UK on the 8th of April. It tells the story of an amusement park, run by a group of animals, which is brought to life through the imagination of a little girl named June. Noah and Ava were so excited to see the film at the cinema, even more so now after receiving these fantastic products from the new Wonder Park toy collection.

We opened the Wonder Chimp Surprise 3 Pack (RRP £5.00) and the Wonder Park Figure (RRP £7.00) first because the kids are partial to their "packs" as they like to call them. The Wonder Chimp Surprise 3 Pack contains a plastic rollercoaster cart and 3 Wonder Chimps. 1 chimp is on display and another two are hidden, waiting to be unveiled. The rollercoaster carts aren't just a piece of throwaway plastic, they a toy which can be connected with others to form a huge coaster. There are over 30 Wonder Chimps to collect in series 1 and Noah was delighted with the three chimps that he found in his first pack.

There's an array of different Wonder Park figures to collect and we were delighted to receive June, who is the star of the movie. She's a decent sized figure and looks very much like the character in the film. She has a fully articulated body and comes with a little backpack, which actually doubles up as a keychain. Noah likes to put the little Wonder Chimps into the backpack and then pops it on her shoulders. I think he'll be more excited about this toy when we have watched the movie together and he knows the character better.

Next, we opened the Wonder Chimp surprise single packs which are like the Wonder Chimp 3 pack but are cheaper (cannot confirm RRP yet but I'd presume around the £2.00 mark) and contain just one chimp. The cart colour is different from the three pack (blue) and the colour is set to change with every series. Noah was sent four of these and received a different character in each cart. I sense the start of a new collection coming on!

Last, but not least we have the Scented Wonder Chimp soft toy (RRP £15.00) which Ava has hogged since the moment she set eyes on it. We received the Princess chimp for the purpose of this review, but just like the other toys in this collection, there are other characters available. It's quite a large soft toy, one which is extremely huggable and is scented just like candyfloss. In the movie, Wonder Chimps are the official souvenir of Wonder Park so it's great that kids are able to take the magic home and actually have one of their own! Ava hasn't put it down since it arrived last week, it's her new best friend!

All toys featured in this review are suitable from 3 years and vary in price. Discover these toys and more, online, and in-store at The Entertainer.

- We were sent these toys for the purpose of this review, however, all opinions are my own.