infants Archives | Little Scholars

We believe that if children learn early on how to recognise and regulate their emotions, we’re setting up a future of more empathetic, kind and respectful generation.

It’s so important, in fact, it’s a huge part of our Collective curriculum across all age groups. Our educators incorporate age and development-appropriate emotions learning opportunities throughout the year. Children who learn how to understand emotions in themselves and others are better able to regulate their own responses to strong emotions, helping them to move through that emotion and focus on all the other aspects of their lives!

There’s of course a number of reasons why emotional regulation is important to children’s development and wellbeing.

The early childhood years (o-5) have been identified in numerous studies as a crucial period for the development of important executive functions such as attention, inhibition, working memory, and literacy skills, all that are necessary for successful school transition and later academic success.

Even though this seems important, there hasn’t been much research on how emotion regulation affects young children’s academic performance. But we’ve found a couple of examples that highlight what we feel to be quite important in children’s development. Since academic skills tend to stay fairly stable over time, it’s essential to understand how managing emotions can support a successful start to school, especially in primary school.

Researchers have identified factors such as anxiety, aggression and verbal abilities as challenges that can affect children’s success in school, and furthermore relationships and career. One such study, The Role of Emotion Regulation and Children’s Early Academic Success, looked at how emotional regulation in young children can help with early academic success. Researchers identified that adaptive functioning, which refers to ‘numerous global positive outcomes including normative social, cognitive, and language development as well as the ability to cope with daily living tasks and environmental changes’ can be affected negatively or positively depending on children’s ability to succeed in school.

This particular study also emphasises that transition to school. Children enter a school environment where they are expected to learn important skills like reading, maths, and socialising. At the same time, they may receive less one-on-one support because of larger class sizes and a greater focus on their independence. Adjusting to these new academic and social demands, without the extra support they may have had in an early learning setting, can be challenging for many young children.

Another study, The Development of Self-Regulation across Early Childhood, highlighted that children who learn how to understand emotions in themselves and others are better able to regulate their own responses to strong emotions.

That’s where we come in!

Learning feelings through play

At Little Scholars, we believe helping children recognise and name their emotions is an important first step in developing emotional awareness. This approach is also supported by the Early Years Learning Framework, which encourages children to build a strong sense of identity.

One example from our campuses is the use of a much-loved book, The Colour Monster by Anna Llenas. This story helps children identify different emotions through colours. After reading the book, our educators extend the learning with creative activities that use colour and storytelling as tools for emotional recognition. These experiences help children build healthy emotional responses and support their overall wellbeing.

Our campuses also incorporate songs and affirmations as part of their routines to reinforce children’s understanding of feelings, and help them figure out what works for them in regards to regulating those feelings.

We also actively participate mindfulness activities into our days to help children process and manage big emotions. Along with songs and affirmations, we use our sector-leading Bush Kinder program to get children out into nature, as well as deep breathing exercises, meditation and yoga as helpful ways for children to slow down, reset, and navigate their feelings.

At Little Scholars, our goal is for our services to be a welcoming second home for children where they can focus on learning through play, and our educators to be a source of comfort and trust for these wonderful little people. We offer calming zones both inside our studios and in our outdoor environments to allow children to escape and rest when they need a break.

Our hope is the foundations we’re setting in children’s emotional and social development in those crucial first five years of development can be built upon in all stages of their childhood and beyond.

At Little Scholars, we’re focused on the holistic growth of each child in our care, by helping these small humans grow into kind, empathetic little legends who are ready to take on the big wide world. Book a tour at one of our 17 locations across the Gold Coast, Redlands, Brisbane and soon Ipswich to see how we incorporate social and emotional growth into our learning curriculum!

How mindfulness enhances child development

Helping children to regulate their emotions

Did you know only about a quarter of Australian children aged 0-4 years regularly participate in organised sport and physical activity?

We all know regular exercise is important for maintaining good health, but we believe it’s even more important for little ones, not only for their health right now, but their optimal physical, emotional and brain development, and to form lifelong good habits for physical activity! The daily recommendation for children each day for physical activity ranges, so here we’ll break it down by age:

Infants (Birth to 12 Months)
Even before they start moving, babies should be active multiple times a day. This can include supervised floor play, reaching and grasping for objects, and at least 30 minutes of tummy time throughout the day while awake. Once they become mobile, activities like crawling, pulling up on furniture, and eventually walking (if ready) help build strength and coordination. Creating simple obstacle courses can encourage movement in a fun way.

Toddlers (1 to 2 Years)
Toddlers thrive on active play and should have at least three hours of physical activity each day, spread throughout the day. This should include energetic movement like running, jumping, twirling, skipping, and dancing. Playing tips, ball games, or setting up fun obstacle courses at home or in the park are great ways to keep them moving. The focus should be on making activity fun and encouraging exploration.

Preschoolers (3 to 5 Years)
Preschoolers also need at least three hours of activity daily, with at least one hour of energetic play. Running, jumping, throwing, kicking, skipping, and dancing all help develop coordination and strength. Activities should be spread across the day and designed to be enjoyable, encouraging curiosity and movement through play.

At Little Scholars, we ensure children are getting the recommended amount of physical activity each day in a number of ways!

Our extracurricular program includes a number of active offerings, including dance, soccer, swimming, sport and yoga, all designed and led by experts in their field who are specialised in child development to ensure these extracurriculars are getting heart rates up, improving coordination, building muscle as well as fine and gross motor skills, and most importantly, are fun!

Our outdoor Bush, Beach and Pram Kinder programs are thoughtfully planned to make the most of a child’s time outside. This means walking on uneven ground, climbing rocks and trees, picking up sticks, running and jumping. Even our little ones in prams are given time on grass or sand to crawl or enjoy tummy time on different surfaces providing new challenges to developing strength.

Our outdoor environments are designed to allow for sport, climbing, running, jumping, risk-taking, and other physical challenges! Not only do we have fantastic fort in each of our outdoor spaces for each age group, we have a range of other moveable equipment to help children build coordination and muscle such as climbing frames and trestles, bicycles, trampolines, balance beams and stepping stones.

At Little Scholars, we’re focused on the holistic growth of the whole child, not just building those rapidly developing brains, but ensuring we’re helping these little bodies grow strong and capable, all while learning valuable skills through play. By encouraging regular movement and active play, we’re helping children develop lifelong healthy habits. Whether it’s running, jumping, climbing, or dancing, every movement helps children grow in confidence and ability. We believe in creating an environment where children can thrive physically, mentally, and emotionally through play and learning.

Book a tour at one of our 17 locations across the Gold Coast, Redlands, Brisbane and soon Ipswich to see how we incorporate physical activity into our learning curriculum!

When to start solids

Most babies show signs of readiness for solids around six months. Look for these cues:

Sitting up with minimal support
Showing interest in your food
Opening their mouth for a spoon or reaching for food
Losing the tongue-thrust reflex (pushing food out of their mouth automatically) Though as babies begin to take in food, this instinct may remain until they get used to it.

How to begin

Whatever way you approach the first tastes, go slow and offer just a couple of teaspoon-sized portions at first. Hand them a spoon to let them hold, though they’ll likely just eat (squish) with their fingers

You can start by offering food once a day alongside their normal amount of breast milk or formula, then work your way up over the coming weeks to three or more feedings a day.

To help babies adjust to the unique tastes of foods, one approach we like starting with vegetables for the first 14 days, one new, iron-rich vegetable each day. This helps develop a taste for nutritious foods before introducing fruit or other sweet flavours, as they’re already accustomed to sweet flavours through formula or breast milk.

Queensland Health recommends including iron-rich foods every day to help baby grow well, such as lean meat and legumes, baby cereal with iron, and green leafy vegetables. Of course, you’ll need to work up to these denser foods. It’s also recommended to introduce nuts into diets soon, as this can help reduce allergies. However please note we do not offer nut products at our campuses.

Purees versus baby-led weaning

We support both traditional purees and baby-led weaning (BLW). Here’s how they differ:

Purees: Smooth textures, spoon-fed by a parent or educator, with gradually thicker consistencies over time.
Baby-led weaning: Soft, whole foods in safe shapes that babies can pick up and feed themselves, encouraging independence and coordination.

Regardless of your approach, always supervise your baby while they eat and offer soft, easy-to-swallow foods. At our campuses, babies are closely supervised during meals and snacks, but we also use these as opportunities to bond, having lots of fun interactions and conversations with our little ones while they eat!

Tips for a smooth transition to food

Offer solids when your baby is alert and in a good mood
Start with small amounts. A teaspoon or two is plenty at first
Encourage exploration. Expect mess, it’s part of the learning process!
Be patient. Some babies take time to adjust to new textures
Watch for allergies. Introduce new foods one at a time, leaving a few days in between common allergens like eggs, dairy, or nuts.

How Little Scholars supports your baby’s journey

At Little Scholars, we help families introduce solids in a way that works for them. Our educators can support your baby with purees or baby-led weaning while ensuring meals are safe, nutritious, and enjoyable. We work closely with families to understand preferences and keep you informed about your baby’s progress.

Starting solids is an exciting step in your baby’s development. With patience, variety, and support, mealtimes can be a wonderful experience for both of you!

We aim to be an extension of your family and are here to support you and your child during those important childhood milestones. If you’re in need of high quality early childhood education for your little ones in South East Queensland, book a tour today.