Childcare 2 year old: Help paying for childcare: Free education and childcare for 2-year-olds

Опубликовано: November 30, 2020 в 10:12 am

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Категории: Child

Family life (as a partner or parent) and exceptional circumstances caseworker guidance

  1. Guidance updated to remove sections relating to family settlement applications, which is now covered in separate Family and private life settlement guidance.

  2. PDF entitled ‘Concession to the family Immigration Rules for granting longer periods of leave and early indefinite leave to remain’ removed because it is no longer valid.

  3. Updated guidance includes a change to the definition of sponsors; changes to the two-stage approach to Family Life claims; changes to the approach when an applicant has a partner but applies as a parent; clarification that written evidence is required to disclose a document to the Home Office. Information on how to deal with private life considerations has been moved to separate guidance.

  4. Updated ‘Concession for granting longer periods of leave and early indefinite leave to remain’ guidance to clarify the qualification criteria for the concession.

  5. Updated Family life (as a partner or parent), private life and exceptional circumstances guidance.

  6. Added document: ‘Concession for granting longer periods of leave and early indefinite leave to remain’.

  7. Recourse to public funds section updated.

  8. Updated PDF file.

  9. Updated ‘Coronavirus (COVID-19) concessions’ section of guidance.

  10. Updated information on EEA citizens in the UK with limited leave under Appendix EUSS and application of rules for Irish citizens.

  11. Updated family life exceptional circumstances.

  12. Updated guidance to reflect a change to the key dates.

  13. Added information for users with a pending application for leave to remain.

  14. Updated document to reflect family position on COVID-19.

  15. Changes to the appeals section.

  16. Updated guidance.

  17. Updated guidance.

  18. Updated guidance.

  19. Updated family life (as a partner or parent), private life and exceptional circumstances guidance.

  20. The words ‘(except where entry is being granted as a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner)’ have been deleted from the end of the first paragraph in “Decision to grant entry clearance or leave to remain as a partner on a 5 or 10-year route”.

  21. Updated version of the guidance document published.

  22. Updated document.

  23. First published.

Free childcare for 2 year olds



1

Overview

Free childcare (also known as free entitlement) is provided by the Government. It allows some 2 year olds access to free, good quality, flexible early education or childcare.

The activities you do at home enhance your child’s all-round development. It is well documented that high quality early education can influence how well a child does at both primary and secondary school. Read more about the benefits of free childcare for you and your child.

Children can use up to 570 hours each year, or a maximum of 15 hours over 38 weeks, from a pre-school, nursery or accredited childminder registered to offer free places, along with some holiday playschemes meeting specific criteria.

To be authorised to offer free childcare, the childcare provider should be rated ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’ in their most recent Ofsted report.

Most families will be better off claiming free childcare than paying for childcare using Tax Credits. If you are eligible for the childcare element of Working Tax Credit/Universal Credit, check if your claim is affected by contacting Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC).



2

Is my child eligible for free childcare?

Forty per cent of 2 year olds are eligible for free entitlement. To qualify, the child must be of eligible age and the parent(s) in receipt of one or more of the following income-based benefits:

  • Income Support

  • Guaranteed element of State Pension Credit

  • Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance

  • Income-related Employment and Support Allowance

  • Support under Part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

  • Universal Credit, and your household income is £15,400 a year or less after tax, not including benefit payments

  • Child Tax Credit, but you are not also in receipt of Working Tax Credit and your household income is £16,190 a year or less before tax

  • Working Tax Credit, but you are not also in receipt of Child Tax Credit and your household income is £16,190 a year or less before tax

  • Working Tax Credit 4-week run on (the payment you get when you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit), and your household income is £16,190 a year or less before tax.

Or the child meets one of the following other criteria:

  • They are a Child Looked After (where the County Council acts as the corporate parent).

  • They are adopted*.

  • They have a Special Guardianship Order*.

  • They have a special educational need or a disability (SEND). These children are eligible if the child either:
    • receives Disability Living Allowance*

    • has a current Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan*.

  • They are a child of Zambrano Carers (person from a non-EEA state whose residence is required in order to enable a child or dependant adult, who is British, to live in the UK)**.

  • They are a child of a family with no recourse to public funds with a right to remain in the UK on grounds of private/family life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights**.

  • They are a child of a subset of failed asylum seekers (supported under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 – ‘the 1999 Act’).

*You will need to provide evidence when you apply.

**Their parents or carers (and their partner if they have one) must meet the low level income requirements, for example, a net income threshold of £15,400.

An eligible child born on or between:

  • 1 April and 31 August – can apply online for free childcare for 2 year olds from 1 April. If the application is approved, can then access a free place from the beginning of the term starting in September, following their second birthday.

  • 1 September and 31 December – can apply online for free childcare for 2 year olds from 1 September. If the application is approved, can then access a free place from the beginning of the term starting in January, following their second birthday.

  • 1 January and 31 March – can apply online for free childcare for 2 year olds from 1 January. If the application is approved, can then access a free place from the beginning of the term starting in April, following their second birthday.

Your child can start their free place at any point after their confirmed eligibility start date, which will be detailed in your award letter following your application.

Funding continues until the term after their third birthday, at which point they will become eligible for universal Free childcare for 3 and 4 year olds.



3

How to apply

If you are eligible for free childcare for your 2 year old, complete either the ‘income-based criteria’ or ‘other criteria’ online application form based on how you qualify.



Apply online: Income-based criteria



(external link)







Apply online: Other criteria


You will be asked to confirm:

  • your name

  • your address

  • the name, gender and date of birth of each child

  • the relevant eligibility criteria you are applying under and evidence, where requested.

If you are claiming under one of the benefit eligibility criteria, ensure you include your National Insurance Number or National Asylum Seeker’s Service Number. Without this your application cannot be processed.

Guidance notes

  • Privacy notice for parents

What happens next

We will review your application, checking whether your child is eligible for funding, and send you the outcome. If 2 year old free childcare is awarded, it will not be removed, even if your circumstances change.

If you do not meet the criteria for free childcare we will contact you advising you to check your eligibility and, if applicable, re-apply in the future.

The processing time for your application may be up to 21 working days. If this period has elapsed, or you have lost your letter from us, email [email protected] for help. If you asked us to email your outcome, please check your spam/junk folder before contacting us.



4

How to use and claim free childcare

If you are awarded free childcare, you should do the following:

1.  Find out about the types of childcare providers that offer funded places for 2 year olds on Childcare options.

2. Use the Family Information Service’s searchable database or contact us for a list of childcare providers who offer free childcare places.

3. Contact a range of childcare providers to see if they have a vacancy for your child. Arrange to visit as many as you wish and choose the one(s) which best meets your and your child’s needs. Find additional information about what to consider.

4. Tell your chosen childcare provider(s) that you wish to access free childcare for your child. You will need to give them the unique reference number that is written on your award letter. They need this number so we can arrange for funding to be paid directly to them.

5. You will be asked to complete and sign a ‘parent declaration’ form, including:

  • your address

  • your child’s legal name and date of birth (bring evidence such as a passport or birth certificate)

  • how many hours you wish to claim

  • your child’s pattern of attendance (the days and hours they will be there).

The childcare provider will do the rest. If you need help, contact us.



5

Additional information

As a parent, you know your child best and should discuss your child’s needs with the childcare provider to help you decide how often your child should attend. A regular pattern of attendance is important to ensure your child’s continued development. You should aim to use your chosen childcare provider for as long as possible, avoiding the need to move your child every few months or term.

Providers that are open all year round may offer parents the flexibility to stretch the hours across the whole year, reducing the number of hours available each week, so that you do not exceed the yearly maximum. Note that this may result in slightly less hours per year, for example 11 hours per week for 51 weeks (561 hours per year) instead of 15 hours for 38 weeks (570 hours per year). Check this with your chosen childcare provider.

You can read the terms and conditions that childcare providers must follow in the provider declaration. Ensure you fully understand and agree to any terms and conditions before you accept a place.

Not all childcare providers will be able to deliver your preferred days/hours. However, the flexibility you need may be achieved by using more than one childcare provider, but not on more than two sites in one day. You must let the childcare provider know if you intend to split the funding across more than one childcare provider.

If you are planning to only access your child’s free hours, childcare providers must ensure that no fees or conditions of access are charged, including:

  • no registration/administration fees or non-refundable deposits

  • no requirement for a child to access additional hours on top of the free hours

  • no requirement for the child to access additional weeks on top of the funded weeks.

Your childcare provider should not charge you as the funding is for a free place rather than a subsidy towards your fees. However, they can set their own rates for any additional time or services that you take. They should let you know in advance what you will be expected to pay. You may be able to get extra help with any additional costs of your childcare place.

It is important you fully understand the childcare provider’s admissions policy, which services are included, what they may charge for and any dates by which you need to make a claim.

Read our FAQs for more information about using the free hours:

  • Free childcare for 2 year olds – FAQs (PDF, 134KB)

Free Early Education for two year olds

Eligibility

Your 2 year old child can get free childcare if you live in England and get one of the following benefits:

  • Income Support
  • income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
  • income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
  • Universal Credit, and your household income is £15,400 a year or less after tax, not including benefit payments
  • the guaranteed element of Pension Credit
  • Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit (or both), and your household income is £16,190 a year or less before tax
  • the Working Tax Credit 4 week run on (the payment you get when you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)

2 year old child can also get free childcare if they:

  • are looked after by a local authority
  • have an education, health and care (EHC) plan
  • get Disability Living Allowance
  • have left care under an adoption order, special guardianship order or a child arrangements order

You may have to pay for extra costs like meals, nappies or trips.

Contact your childcare provider or local council to find out more.

If you’re a non EEA citizen who cannot claim benefits

If your immigration status says you have ‘no recourse to public funds’, you may still get free childcare for your 2 year old. You must live in England and your household income must be no more than:

  • £26,500 for families outside of London with one child
  • £34,500 for families within London with one child
  • £30,600 for families outside of London with two or more children
  • £38,600 for families within London with two or more children
  • You cannot have more than £16,000 in savings or investments

Check your eligibility with our childcare team

Check your eligibility on our parent portal.

If eligible, the system will give you a code, which you can give to your chosen childcare provider to claim the free childcare.

Start dates for free childcare places

Eligible two year olds can start receiving their entitlement the term after their second birthday.  

  • Birthdays between 1 September and 31 December, funding starts in the spring term (January)
  • Birthdays between 1 January and 31 March, funding starts in the summer term (April)
  • Birthdays between 1 April and 31 August, funding starts in the autumn term (September)

Number of hours entitled to

Eligible 2 year olds are entitled to 570 hours of free early education per year. It’s usually taken as 15 hours a week over 38 weeks of the year (split into three terms).

However, if your child‘s provider is open all year round, such as a day nursery, the free hours will be spread equally over those weeks. For example, if your child attends a provider that is open for 51 weeks a year, they will receive 11 hours a week.

National limits

National limits are set by the government about how the free sessions can be offered meaning that:

  • no session can be longer than 10 hours
  • a maximum of 15 hours per week can be taken over a minimum of two days
  • you can use your free childcare during the weekends as well

You can discuss with the provider how your free hours can be taken. Some may offer set days and times, whereas others may be more flexible. If needed, you can purchase additional hours of childcare.

Finding a provider

A variety of providers offer free early education and childcare for two-year-olds, including:

  • day nurseries
  • pre-schools or playgroups
  • childminders
  • nursery schools

For a list of childcare providers in your area offering funded spaces, please contact Early Years & Childcare Team on 0208 496 3566 or email [email protected].  

Once you have chosen your preferred childcare setting, contact them directly to arrange for your child to start.

If you would like to take up any additional hours outside the Free Early Education Entitlement, the childcare provider will invoice you accordingly.

Please note that taking up a nursery place at a school does not guarantee a reception or Year 1 place at that school. There is a completely separate admissions procedure for reception and Year 1 classes in a school.

Quality of Free Early Education providers

Free Early Education Entitlement (FEEE) providers must be:

  • registered with Ofsted/DfE
  • issued with a contract by the Local Authority to do this.

To get a contract from the Local Authority, they must demonstrate their understanding of the legal and statutory requirements they must comply with:

  • planning and building regulations,
  • health and safety(including premises statutory compliance),
  • employment law
  • safeguarding
  • finance

Providers who fail to demonstrate that they have an understanding of and comply with the requirements covered by the compliance checks, will not be commissioned by the Local Authority as providers. 

Watch these videos to find out more

Stay 2 Play: free sessions for 2 year olds

Not ready to take your child to a nursery or pre-school? Bring them to a free Stay 2 Play session at a Waltham Forest Children and Family Centres and join in the fun yourself. Each two hour session supports your child’s learning through playing with other children alongside their parents or carers.

A range of stimulating activities are available at the sessions allowing your child to play, paint, read, cook, climb, sing, dance, dress up, jump, run around, whatever they like doing.

If you do not have your 2 year old eligibility code or access to the internet, just come along to one of the sessions, bring your National Insurance Number or your National Asylum Support Service (NASS) number, and we’ll also do the check for you on the day. You can attend the session whether you are eligible for the Free Childcare for 2 year olds or not.

See Stay 2 Play sessions on our Facebook group or go to the Children and Family Centres page.

Working Families | England – Free childcare for children aged 2, 3 & 4

Last updated: 20 Apr 2022

In England, there are three government-funded early education schemes that offer free childcare for children aged two, three and four:

  • 15 hours free childcare for eligible 2-year-olds
  • 15 hours free childcare for all 3 and 4-year-olds
  • 30 hours free childcare for eligible 3 and 4 year-olds

These schemes are only available to families living in England, although similar schemes are available in Scotland and Wales.

Each of the free childcare schemes has different eligibility rules so it’s important to check which of the schemes is right for you. More information on each scheme is outlined below, followed by frequently asked questions and information on how to apply for each scheme.

15 hours free childcare for 2-year-olds

In order to be eligible for free childcare for your two-year-old, you must either be in receipt of a qualifying benefit or your 2-year-old child must fit into one of the categories of children who have additional needs.

The qualifying benefits are:

  • Income Support
  • income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
  • income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
  • Universal Credit – if you and your partner are on a low income from work (this usually means a combined income no more than £15,400 a year after tax)
  • Child Tax Credit and your family have an annual income of no more than £16,190 before tax
  • the guaranteed element of State Pension Credit
  • support through part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act
  • the Working Tax Credit 4-week run on (the payment you get when you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)

Note: If you do not qualify for the benefits above because you are subject to immigration control, you may still qualify for 15 hours free childcare. You must still be on a low income (see FAQ below).

Even if you are not receiving a qualifying benefit your 2-year-old can still get free childcare if any of the following apply:

  • they’re looked after by a local council
  • they have a current statement of special education needs (SEN) or an education, health and care (EHC) plan
  • they get Disability Living Allowance
  • they’ve left care under a special guardianship order, child arrangements order or adoption order
  • you can’t claim benefits because of your asylum seeker status or a no recourse to public funds condition. This only applies in specific circumstances – see FAQ below.

Contact your childcare provider or local council to find out how to apply or if you need further guidance.

15 hours free childcare for 3 and 4-year-olds

This scheme is universal and open to all 3 and 4-year olds. There are no earnings or work requirements.

You should be able to start receiving the childcare from 1 January, 1 April or 1 September following your child’s 3rd birthday.

Contact your childcare provider or local council if you need further guidance.

30 hours free childcare for 3 and 4-year olds

To be eligible for 30 hours free childcare for your 3 or 4-year-old, you and your partner must each expect to earn (on average) the equivalent of working 16 hours a week at your national minimum wage (£152 per week, less if you are under 23).

You will still be treated as meeting the earnings requirement if you or your partner are on maternity, paternity or adoption leave – this applies whether you are single or a couple. The earnings requirement also does not apply if you are self-employed and you started your business less than 12 months ago.

You are not usually able to use the scheme if either you or your partner has a taxable income over £100,000.

To receive 30 hours free childcare you will need to apply online through gov. uk. After registering for an account, you will get a code that you can take to your childcare provider. You need to apply before the term starts or you will have wait until the beginning of the next term.

There is a government helpline if you need help with the application.

Frequently asked questions

Below is a summary of the most frequently asked questions we receive about the free childcare schemes on our helpline.

Eligibility

I am on a visa and have no recourse to public funds. Am I still eligible for free childcare?

Government funded early education and childcare is not a ‘public fund’ for immigration purposes, so can be accessed by a child regardless of their immigration status. However, some schemes have eligibility requirements relating to the immigration status of the parent(s) and so may not be available to all families. 

15 hours for 2-year-olds

If you are on a visa with no recourse to public funds (NRPF), you are likely to be restricted from receiving a qualifying benefit because most of them are considered ‘public funds’.

Parents with certain types of NRPF visas can access 15 hours free childcare for their 2-year-old child. To be eligible, you must have one of the following types of immigration statuses:

  1. Zambrano carer (derivative right to reside in the UK under European law as the primary carer of a British child or dependent adult).
  2. Leave to remain with NRPF granted on family or private life (Article 8) grounds.
  3. You have claimed asylum in the UK, you are waiting for a decision and you are getting support from the Home Office (‘Part 6’ support).
  4. ‘Appeal rights exhausted’ (ARE) asylum seeker receiving asylum support from the Home Office under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.

If you meet conditions 1 or 2 above, you must also be on a low income to qualify. This means you and your partner must have a combined income no more than than £15,400 per year after tax.

You can also apply if your child if your child:

  • is looked after by a local council
  • has a current statement of special education needs (SEN) or an education, health and care (EHC) plan
  • gets Disability Living Allowance
  • has left care under a special guardianship order, child arrangements order or adoption order

15 hours for 3 and 4-year olds

If you are not allowed to receive public funds due to your immigration status, you can still use 15 hours free childcare for 3 and 4-year-olds.

15 hours per week of free childcare is universal for all children aged 3 to 4 years old. Children can benefit regardless of their, or their parent’s, immigration status. 

Contact your childcare provider or local council if you need further guidance.

30 hours for 3 and 4-year olds

You may not be able to apply for 30 hours free childcare for 3 and 4 year olds. The parent who applies for 30 free hours will need to meet a residence requirement. In order to meet the requirement, the parent applying must have one of the following:

  • British or Irish citizenship
  • Settled or pre-settled status granted under the EU Settlement Scheme
  • A pending EU Settlement Scheme application
  • Immigration permission that allows access to public funds, such as indefinite leave to remain or refugee leave

A parent who has NRPF will not meet the residence requirement. In two-parent households, at least one parent on the application will need to meet the residence requirement. If a single parent or both parents in a household have NRPF, the family will be unable to access 30 hours childcare.

For more information on eligibility and how to apply, see the government site.

I’m claiming free childcare, but my circumstances have changed. Will it affect my eligibility?

15 hours for 2-year-olds

Once you have been accepted for 15 hours free childcare for 2-year-olds, your child will continue to receive free childcare even if you have a change of circumstances, such as an increase in income or no longer qualifying for benefits.

30 hours for 3 and 4-year olds

A change in circumstances may affect your eligibility for 30 hours free childcare. In order to be eligible, you must apply for a code to give to your childcare provider. Codes expire after three months, so you must reconfirm your eligibility to obtain a new code which means you must continue to earn or expect to earn enough to satisfy the earnings requirement.

If your circumstances change and you are no longer eligible for 30 free hours when it comes time to reconfirm, you will be given a grace period. This is a short period of time for you to be able to get back to eligibility, and your child will retain their 30 hour placement.

If after the end of the grace period, you are still not eligible for 30 free hours, your child will still be entitled to 15 free hours because it is a universal entitlement. You can apply for 30 free hours again in the future if you become eligible.

If you have questions about reconfirmation and grace periods, speak to the government helpline.

My child is turning 5 but isn’t starting school yet. Are we still eligible for 15/30 free hours?

15/30 hours free childcare for 3 and 4-year olds stops when your child reaches the compulsory school age and starts in reception class (not when they turn 5).

According to statutory guidance for local authorities on the free childcare schemes, a child is required to start reception on the 31st March, 31st August or 31st December after their 5th birthday. This will be the same day that they stop being eligible for 15/30 free hours.

Contact your childcare provider or local council if you need further guidance.

I am a student. Am I eligible for free childcare?

You can be, if you meet the eligibility requirements. If you are in receipt of a qualifying benefit, you may be eligible for 15 free hours for 2 year olds. If you work and earn enough to satisfy the earnings requirement, you may be eligible for 30 free hours for 3 and 4 year olds.

You may also be eligible for help through Care to Learn, Childcare Grant, and the Parents’ Learning Allowance. For more information, see our article on pregnancy and maternity for students.

Eligibility – 30 free hours

I’m on maternity or statutory family leave. Am I still eligible for 30 free hours childcare?

Yes, you will still be treated as meeting the earnings requirement for 30 free hours childcare if you or your partner are on maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave, even if you are on unpaid leave. This is because you’re treated as working while on maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave, even if you’re not longer getting any pay. So you should still be entitled to the 30 hours, as long as your partner also meets the conditions.

I’m on sick leave. Am I still eligible for 30 free hours?

You can usually still get 30 hours free childcare if you are on paid sick leave, either paid by your employer or on Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). Normally, HMRC treat those on sick leave as in work.

If you are not in receipt of SSP or another benefit such as Employment and Support Allowance, you may still be entitled to 30 free hours but you may be asked to submit proof of sickness, such as fit notes from your GP, to HMRC when reconfirming your eligibility.

If you have further questions about reconfirmation and eligibility while on sick leave, speak to the government helpline.

I am unable to work because I’m disabled or a carer.

Can I still be eligible for 30 free hours?

If you are in a couple, and one of you meets the earnings requirements but one of you is unable to work because you have a disability or you are a carer, then you will be exempt from the earnings requirement.

In this circumstance, one of you must be working and the other would need to provide evidence that you are unable to work by showing that you are receiving Incapacity Benefit, Severe Disablement Allowance, Carer’s Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance, or the carer element or the limited capability for work and work-related activity element of Universal Credit.

My partner is self-employed. Can we still be eligible for 30 free hours?

Yes. To be eligible for 30 hours free childcare, you and your partner must be working (either employed or self-employed) and each expect to earn (on average) the equivalent of working 16 hours a week at the national minimum wage for people over 23 (£1,853.28 every 3 months).

This earnings requirement will not apply if your partner is self-employed and started their business less than 12 months ago.

If your partner is self-employed and does not expect to make enough profit in the next 3 months to meet the earnings threshold, they can use an average of how much they expect to make over the current tax year.

HMRC may penalise you if you are careless or dishonest when you apply for or reconfirm your eligibility for 30 hours free childcare. However, there is no penalty if you genuinely expect to earn the required amount, but are not able to.

Together my partner and I earn over £100,000. Are we still eligible for 30 free hours?

You are not usually able to use the 30 free hours scheme if either you or your partner individually has a taxable income over £100,000.

You will still be eligible for 30 free hours childcare if your combined income is greater than £100,000, as long as individually neither of you earn greater than that amount.

I am an apprentice and work full time. Can I apply for 30 free hours childcare?

Yes, as long as you meet the earnings threshold. To be eligible for 30 hours free childcare for your 3 or 4-year-old, you, and any partner, must each expect to earn (on average) the equivalent of working 16 hours a week at your national minimum wage.

I missed the reconfirmation deadline for 30 free hours. Can I still recieve 30 free hours?

HMRC manages the application process and sends out reminders to parents about the need to reconfirm their eligibility for 30 free hours childcare every three months.

If you miss the reconfirmation deadline, you should receive a message telling you that you are no longer eligible for 30 hours childcare. You should be given a ‘grace period’ so that your child can continue with their free place for a short period of time.

If you are still eligible for 30 free hours, you can make a new application for 30 hours. If your circumstances change and you are no longer eligible for the additional 15 hours of free childcare, you can still access the 15-hour universal entitlement.

If you have questions about reconfirmation and grace periods, speak to the government helpline.

Applying for free hours entitlement

How do I apply?

15 hours for 2-year-olds

How you apply for 15 free hours for 2 year olds depends on your local council and how they run the scheme. You should contact your childcare provider or local council to find out how to apply. You may need to apply through your local council, or you may be able to apply through your childcare provider.

15 hours for 3 and 4-year-olds

You do not need to apply for 15 free hours for 3 and 4-year-olds because it is a universal entitlement. You should speak to your childcare provider who should be able to claim the free hours on your behalf. If you have any further questions, you should speak to your local council who are responsible for ensuring that there are a sufficient number of free entitlement spaces.

30 hours for 3 and 4-year-olds

To receive 30 hours free childcare you will need to apply online through gov.uk. After registering for an account, you will get a code that you can take to your childcare provider. You need to apply before the term starts or you will have wait until the beginning of the next term. There is a government helpline if you need help with this.

When should I apply and when can my child access free entitlement?

15 hours for 2-year-olds

The earliest you can apply is at the start of the term in which your child turns 2. The childcare will not actually start until the beginning of the term after you apply (either 1 January, 1 April or 1 September).

For instance, if your child turns 2 on 15 February, you can apply during the term that begins on on 1 January and your child can start during the term starting on 1 April.

15/30 hours for 3 and 4-year-olds

The earliest you can apply is at the start of the term in which your child turns 3. The childcare will not actually start until the beginning of the term after you apply (either 1 January, 1 April or 1 September).

For instance, if your child turns 3 on 15 June, you can apply during the term that begins on on 1 April and your child can start during the term starting on 1 September.

I am due to start/return to work soon. Do I have to wait until I start work to apply for 30 free hours?

No. If you are due to start work (or return to work) within the next 31 days, you can apply for 30 free hours as long as you expect to earn on average the equivalent of working 16 hours on the national minimum wage.

To receive 30 hours free childcare you will need to apply online through gov.uk. After registering for an account, you will get a code that you can take to your childcare provider. You need to apply before the term starts or you will have wait until the beginning of the next term. There is a government helpline if you need help with this.

Using the free hours entitlement

My childcare provider says I must use the free hours in a particular way. Are they correct?

Each childcare provider has a different approach to the government scheme, and how the free hours are used are typically down to your agreement with them. If you have an issue, you should speak to your childcare provider or your local council.

The 15 hours entitlement is usually taken over 38 weeks of the year. With the agreement of your childcare provider, you can use the hours in term time only or stretch the hours over more than 38 weeks. If you stretch the hours out over 52 weeks, you will be entitled to 11 hours per week.

Similarly with 30 hours entitlement, it can be taken over 38 weeks or stretched to cover the whole year depending on what your childcare provider offers. If you stretch the entitlement, you would receive 22 free hours per week.

The statutory limits say that you can claim a maximum of 10 hours on one day. The minimum is 3 hours in one day.

Some childcare providers are flexible in their approach, and others require you to use the free hours in a particular way (e.g. in a set number of full days or half days). This is typically down to your agreement with them.

Can I use free childcare schemes while claiming Universal Credit/Tax Credits?

This advice applies in England, Wales and Scotland. If you live in another part of the UK, the law may differ. Please call our helpline for more details. If you are in Northern Ireland you can visit the Labour Relations Agency or call their helpline Workplace Information Service on 03300 555 300.

If you have further questions and would like to contact our advice team please use our advice contact form below or call us.

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The information on the law contained on this site is provided free of charge and does not, and is not intended to, amount to legal advice to any person on a specific case or matter. If you are not a solicitor, you are advised to obtain specific legal advice about your case or matter and not to rely solely on this information. Law and guidance is changing regularly in this area.

We cannot provide advice on employment rights in Northern Ireland as the law is different. You can visit the Labour Relations Agency or call their helpline Workplace Information Service on 03300 555 300.

Free childcare for 2 year olds

Introduction

Some two year olds are entitled to free early learning and childcare. The eligibility starts the school term after the child’s second birthday. Although not all two year olds are entitled to a free place, all children become eligible for free childcare and early learning places from the school term after their third birthday. Free early learning and childcare for 3 and 4 year olds.

The Childcare Choices website offers a comparison guide for the different ways you could reduce your childcare costs.

Eligibility

Eligibility criteria for two years old funded early learning and childcare 
Children born in the period

Become entitled for funding at the start of the funding period or following

Funding period
1 January – 31 March 1 April Summer
1 April – 31 August 1 September Autumn
1 September – 31 December 1 January Spring

Either parent must be in receipt of one of the following benefits:

  • Working Tax Credit provided your annual income (as assessed by HM Revenue & Customs) does not exceed £16,190
  • Income Support
  • Income Based Job Seekers Allowance
  • Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
  • Support under part VI of the Immigration & Asylum Act 1999
  • Child Tax Credit provided your annual income (as assessed by HM Revenue & Customs) does not exceed £16,190
  • Guarantee element of State Pension Credit
  • Universal Credit (provided you have an annual net earned income of no more than £15,400, as assessed by earnings from up to three of your most recent assessment periods)

Or, the child:

  • has been adopted from local authority care
  • has been looked after by a local authority
  • has left care through a special guardianship or child arrangements order
  • is in receipt of Disability Living Allowance
  • has an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan

If you have received a letter, you will need to complete the online application form to check your eligibility. The letter is not proof of entitlement as your circumstances can change. You do not need the letter to make an application – anyone meeting eligibility can apply.

Apply for free childcare for 2 year olds

Apply for free childcare for 2 year olds

If you qualify, you will receive an authorisation code, which you need to give to the early learning and childcare provider of your choice and discuss taking up a place with them. The authorisation code can be used at more than one provider and is valid until the funding period following your child’s third birthday.

If you are eligible, your child is entitled to a maximum of 570 funded hours in the 12 month period. Please refer to the table above for the eligible dates of birth.

  • Information about 3 and 4 year old funding

Frequently asked questions

What is the entitlement?

The hours and sessions which are available for funded childcare will depend on the individual childcare setting and will need to be agreed in advance. There should not be any additional costs attached to claiming the funded hours, such as top up fees or uniform charges.

What are the benefits for my child?

Children benefit from early learning, we know this from research. Good quality early learning:

  • helps your child to be happy, confident, sociable and curious
  • gives opportunities to be active and learn through fun and play, indoors and outdoors
  • offers many activities including creative and messy play
  • helps them to become effective learners and ready for school
  • has a long term impact on their development

How do I find a place?

You can find a list of childcare providers near where you live who have been approved to offer free places for 2 year olds on the Cambridgeshire Online Directory. You can then contact the childcare provider directly to see if they have any vacancies. It is best to do this as soon as possible, because some childcare settings have long waiting lists. Visit the Finding a childcare place page for more information.

  • If your child already attends childcare, please ask your childcare provider if they offer free places for 2 year olds.
  • If you need further support you can visit your nearest Child and Family Centre.

If Peterborough City Council is your local authority, you can apply for free childcare on their website.

Will it affect my tax credits?

Childcare costs are included in the calculations made by HMRC to ensure that you receive the right amount of credit that you are entitled to. If you already pay for childcare and claim child tax credit to cover the cost, you must notify HMRC as soon as possible if taking up a free place reduces the cost of your childcare by £10 or more a week.

You do not need to notify HMRC if your cost does not change, for example if you use the free childcare to increase the number of hours your child attends. You will always be better off taking up a free place as tax credits only contribute to a part of the full cost of childcare and not all of it.

There is HMRC guidance for parents or carers who may be having difficulty claiming childcare support through tax credits or childcare vouchers if their childcare provider is a school. 

  • Tax credits: working out your childcare costs 
  • Tax credits calculator

You can contact the Council’s Education Welfare Benefits Team for information about applications for free school meals, or benefits which support children financially while at school or college.

Education Welfare Benefits Team
Box Number: ALC2606
New Shire Hall
Emery Crescent
Enterprise Campus
Alconbury Weald
Huntingdon
PE28 4YE

Email: [email protected]
Tel: 01223 703 200

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Early learning and childcare expansion – Early education and care

Please note that the ELC expansion has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Please visit the Parent Club for the latest news and answers to some of the questions you might have.

Funded early learning and childcare (ELC) is available to all three and four year olds and eligible two year olds. From August 2021, the entitlement will increase to 1,140 hours a year (30 hours a week if taken term time).

The expansion of funded ELC, originally intended for August 2020, was paused in April to give local authorities the flexibility to focus on responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new date of August 2021 has now been agreed with local authority umbrella group COSLA. The Scottish Government will pass legislation in early 2021 so that this duty will come into force from August 2021. We published our joint implementation plan for funded early learning and childcare places for all children who defer their primary one start in December 2020.

The main aims of the expansion in ELC are to:

•    improve children’s outcomes and help close the poverty-related attainment gap
•    increase family resilience through improved health and wellbeing of children and parents
•    support parents into work, study or training

If you are a parent or carer you can get information on early learning and childcare on the Parent Club website.

Support for local authorities

Local authorities are responsible for ensuring that funded entitlement is available for all eligible children in their area. We are supporting them to build the capacity needed in their communities to phase in extended entitlement. We have a multi-year capital and revenue funding agreement in place with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) which is fully funding the expansion in funded entitlement.

This will see annual revenue investment increase by £567 million on 2016-17 levels by 2021-22. It includes funding to enable the payment of sustainable rates to funded providers delivering the funded entitlement – including funding to enable payment of at least the real Living Wage to all childcare workers delivering the funded entitlement. We have also provided councils with capital funding of £476 million to support associated building projects.

Support and guidance for ELC providers

To find out how to become a funded provider you can contact your local authority’s ELC team or visit their website to find out more.

We published a delivery support plan for providers in December 2018, outlining our support in four areas:

  • financial sustainability
  • partnership working
  • workforce recruitment and training
  • communications with parents and carers

ELC providers can also find out about support for their business by contacting their local Business Gateway office.  

We have worked with COSLA to set up an ELC Partnership Forum to promote joint working with and across the ELC sector.

Partnership Principles between COSLA and the ELC representative bodies

Funded providers can register an interest in joining the forum by emailing: [email protected] 

We have also developed a 12-step guide for ELC providers to support them with recruitment and training.

Progress of the ELC expansion programme

When the extent of the COVID-19 pandemic became clear, the Scottish Government took the difficult decision to suspend the statutory duty on local authorities to provide 1140 hours of early learning and childcare from this August. The increase to 1140 hours will now take place from August 2021 but from now until then, all eligible children across Scotland will be able to access at least 600 hours of funded ELC. Many authorities are already offering 1140 hours in advance of this statutory duty, to some or all eligible children. 

ELC for two year old children

We know that high quality early learning and childcare (ELC) can make a huge difference to children’s lives, particularly when they are growing up in more disadvantaged circumstances.

That is why we offer funded ELC to two year olds who are most likely to benefit from early access.

This includes all looked after children and children whose family receive a qualifying benefit, which is around a quarter of the two year old population.

Increasing uptake and awareness

We are working with local authorities and others to increase awareness and uptake of the two year old offer, and improving information available to parents and carers.

For example, we provide information and advice about ELC options on the Parent Club website and the Children and Young People Improvement Collaborative has been testing approaches to improve the uptake of funded ELC for eligible two year olds.

To inform our work in this area, we commissioned research on the drivers and barriers to uptake amongst two year olds.

Background

Prior to 2014, three and four year olds were entitled to 475 hours per year of free pre-school education. The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 extended provision to 600 hours for all three and four year olds and for two year olds who were looked after (including those in kinship care) and those whose parents were in receipt of out of work benefits.

From August 2015, we extended provision for two year olds further to those whose families meet the eligibility criteria for free school meals

National Standard for early learning and childcare

To ensure that all children experience the highest quality of early learning and childcare (ELC) the sector is working towards the full introduction of Funding Follows the Child in August 2021.  

Funding Follows the Child is ‘provider neutral’ and is underpinned by a National Standard that to be a funded provider – regardless of whether they are in the public, private or third sector, or childminders – settings will have to meet.

Funding follows the child will help increase choice and flexibility for parents and carers whilst ensuring children benefit from high quality provision.

It means that parents and carers – including those of eligible two years olds – will be able to choose to use their child’s entitlement at any ELC provider that:

  • meets the National Standard 
  • has a place available and
  • is willing to enter into a contract with the local authority

The National Standard sets out what children and families should expect from their early learning experience regardless of where they access their child’s funded hours.

The National Standard will be introduced in full from August 2021. In the meantime, it is expected that the majority of the National Standard should still be deliverable, although some flexibility will be required on certain aspects.

Further information is provided in the Interim Guidance on Funding Follows the Child and National Standard requirements for settings and local authorities. 

Helping ELC providers meet the National Standard

We have published operating guidance detailing how settings delivering the funded entitlement can meet the National Standard.

We have also published a frequently asked questions document for local authorities and funded providers.

Supporting technical guidance is also available covering business sustainability, sustainable rates and transition options guidance on contracting.

We developed Funding Follows the Child in partnership with COSLA and local authorities, through a Service Models Working Group, with the final approach informed by a consultation, and a supporting programme of engagement with stakeholders, in 2018.

ELC workforce

To create capacity for the increase in ELC workforce required to deliver the 1140 hours expansion, since 2017 we have increased training opportunities and routes into all parts of the sector, resulting in a record workforce of over 37,000.

To support this, we have run several bursts of a national recruitment campaign to attract people to a career in ELC, linked to our national childcare careers website, which has a Live Jobs Feed, as well as a range of information about routes into ELC and childminding, and career pathways. 

And we have worked with the Scottish Funding Council and Skills Development Scotland to create additional capacity in the college, university and work-based learning sectors to train the additional staff required for the ELC expansion.

As well as creating new employment opportunities, the expansion of funded ELC provides an opportunity to increase the diversity of the childcare workforce, including attracting more males and people from diverse ethnic communities into the sector.

Pay and conditions

We understand the importance of promoting fair work practices across the ELC sector, including ensuring that staff are fairly remunerated.

Public sector staff working in ELC already receive the Living Wage, and we want to see all childcare workers delivering the funded entitlement across all sectors paid at least this from 2020.

To support this we will provide local authorities with sufficient funding to allow them to agree sustainable rates with funded providers in the private and third sectors.

We will also provide targeted advice and support to providers on implementing Fair Work practices.   

Early learning support for deprived communities

We have been working with local authorities to ensure that nurseries in Scotland’s most deprived areas benefit from an equity and excellence lead (an additional graduate).

These are highly qualified posts, that can be either a teacher or early years graduate with or working towards, for example the BA in Childhood Practice. 

Equity and excellence lead role

The role of equity and excellence lead is primarily focused on leading support for the most disadvantaged children to close the attainment gap.

This involves working directly with children and does not focus on managerial responsibilities e.g. administration and payroll.

Another key role is to lead and support pedagogy in a setting, upskilling fellow practitioners.

Leads are not tied to the settings’ adult-child ratios like other staff and therefore have greater flexibility and reflection time for this purpose. Local authorities have been given freedom to utilise leads depending on their local needs and the leads experience, therefore the roles focus may differ across settings.

Outdoor play and learning

Outdoor play and learning is an integral, every day, part of ELC in Scotland. 

We know the benefits of high quality outdoor play on children’s positive physical and mental development. It is our vision that children in Scotland’s ELC sector will soon spend as much time outdoors as they do indoors. 

To support this we will be working with practitioners to develop strong communities of practice, enabling these high quality experiences to become the norm.

During the COVID-19 pandemic we funded the charity Living Classrooms £159,000 to expand their Virtual Nature School. The programme trained ELC practitioners to deliver nature based play sessions, supporting children and families who were unable to attend their settings. 

To support local authorities with their use of outdoor play and learning, Scottish Government and the Children and Young People’s Improvement Collaborative (CYPIC) are running an Improvement Practicum from Autumn 2020.  Local Authorities will shortly be invited to apply for a place in the practicum which will use improvement methodology to develop the use of the outdoors in early learning and childcare settings.

In 2018-2020 we provided more than £860,000 of funding to the charity Inspiring Scotland, to work with local authorities and the ELC sector to expand outdoor learning spaces for children. Together with Inspiring Scotland, we published Scotland’s Coalition for Outdoor Play and Learning position statement which commits the signatories to embedding playing and learning outdoors as an everyday activity and to celebrate it as a fundamental part of growing up in Scotland.  

Guidance for ELC practitioners

We have produced a guide for ELC practitioners, Out to Play, which provides practical advice on setting up and delivering outdoor spaces. With the support of Inspiring Scotland, we will be updating this guidance in 2020 with additional materials to support the Out of School Care, Childminding and Additional Support Needs sectors. 

We have also published design guidance for the provision of high quality outdoor spaces for early learning and childcare and out of school care settings.

There is also a range of resources on Education Scotland’s National Improvement Hub to provide support for professional development in outdoor learning across the 3-18 curriculum. 

Personal hygiene of children from 1 to 3 years. Baby care and water treatments | Mamovediya

Personal hygiene of a child is understood as a set of useful skills of neatness and cleanliness, aimed primarily at maintaining and strengthening his health, and preventing diseases. The most important thing is to keep the child’s body clean, his things, toys, in a word, everything that surrounds him.

Regular skin care is necessary because the baby’s skin is very delicate and easily damaged. The slightest errors in care – the child was not washed in time, wrapped up – and diaper rash, prickly heat immediately appear, causing a burning sensation and itching, sometimes becoming the cause of the child’s restless behavior.

A child’s day should begin and end with washing and rinsing. In addition, during the day, you can repeatedly wash and wash the baby as needed. When washing, roll up the sleeves of a shirt or dress so that the baby does not wet them.

From the age of two, the child can be given the opportunity to wash himself. Usually babies experience great pleasure splashing in the water, and this desire of the baby should be used to form a useful skill.

Be sure to show how to properly wash your hands, wash your face, use soap and a towel. The kid should get used to washing his hands before every meal – this is the first of the most useful hygiene skills, it should be fixed as early as possible – in our time, unfortunately, the diseases of “dirty hands” have not yet disappeared.

Bathing a child is an important hygiene procedure. For babies aged 1 year and older, it is recommended at least 2 times a week before bed at night. After a year, the baby can be bathed in the bath, and a shower is useful for a child over two years old. When bathing, the baby’s body is washed with a washcloth, sponge or terry mitten with soap. Then rinse and wipe dry with a towel specially allocated for this.

On days when the baby is not bathed, before going to bed, be sure to wash him and wash his feet. Only after carrying out these indispensable procedures, you can put the child to sleep at night.

Teach your baby to water procedures that pursue a hygienic purpose: in the morning – washing the upper half of the body, and in the evening – the lower.

Few of the children willingly accept cutting of nails and hair, nevertheless their hygienic significance is great. Nails should be cut in the same way for both boys and girls as needed, using small scissors with curved ends.

Most parents trust hairdressers to cut their hair. In large cities there are special children’s hairdressers, where they make neat and modern haircuts for boys and girls.

However, for many girls, their parents keep their hair long, even though it gives them more trouble than a short haircut. It is necessary to take care of the baby’s long hair skillfully, without causing her discomfort when combing and washing her hair. Pain during these procedures can cause a girl’s persistent negative reaction and make it difficult to care for her hair.

When washing hair, make sure that soap does not get on the child’s face and eyes. To do this, tilt your baby’s head back and, in this position, wash the soap out of the hair with a shower or running tap water. It is better to comb the hair after washing when it is wet – they are less tangled and the child is not so hurt.

It is of great hygienic importance to educate the child in the skills of accuracy during meals, the ability to use a napkin . Teach your child to rinse his mouth after eating, freeing him from food debris. The kid should be able to brush his teeth with a children’s toothbrush, special powder or paste. In addition, he must be taught how to use a handkerchief. The child should have his own handkerchief and use it not only when there is a need to wipe his nose, mouth or hands, but also be able to cover himself with a handkerchief or palm when sneezing and coughing.

Adult caregivers should also practice basic personal hygiene, as this is very important for their baby’s health.

First of all, you need to monitor your health: lead a proper lifestyle, play sports, eliminate bad habits, observe the correct daily routine .

Every morning you should do morning exercises, monitor your oral cavity – brush your teeth at least 2 times a day for two minutes, rinse your mouth after each meal, thereby preventing dental disease or bad breath.

Only healthy persons may take care of the child. If one of the parents falls ill, then the baby should be isolated from him until recovery occurs. Dishes of adult family members should be stored separately from children’s in order to protect the child from possible infection in time.

The apartment where the baby lives should be clean, light and well ventilated. Wet cleaning of the premises should be carried out regularly. The mother and father of the child must carefully monitor the cleanliness of their body, hands, clothes. Coming home from work, you can not immediately approach the baby and even more so take him in your arms until you change your work clothes for home clothes, wash your hands and face.

Caregivers of small children should keep their nails short. Long nails, firstly, can easily injure thin delicate children’s skin, and secondly, dirt and a large number of a wide variety of microbes often accumulate under them, which can cause diseases of the child.

If you have to work with dirt, use gloves that protect your hands well. To prevent irritation, cleanly washed hand skin after work is recommended to be lubricated with any nourishing cream.

Make it a rule when you come home to change shoes, change into home clothes, wash your face and only after that take the child in your arms.

It is very important to take care of your appearance so that at home, as well as at work, you are always neatly dressed and combed. Your smart and neat appearance makes a good impression on the child, shows him a positive example of behavior.

Remember that only daily and regular hygienic education and parental control can achieve the formation and consolidation of the child’s ability to observe the rules of personal hygiene.

Read online “Your baby. Child care from birth to one year”, Natalia Ivanova – LitRes

Introduction. WONDER OF NATURE

A newborn baby is an amazing creature. Weak and helpless, he is able to endure stress that would overwhelm an adult with relative ease.

It’s no joke to suddenly find yourself in a completely unusual external environment, and even if necessary, instantly switch to a new way of breathing, blood circulation, and then nutrition!

He is still very small, but this small fragile body contains a powerful growth potential. His digestive organs are able to absorb 600-700 g of mother’s milk per day – this is a fifth of his body weight!

A newborn comes into the world with a sufficient supply of various reflexes. It is worth touching a finger to his lips, and he pulls them out, preparing to start sucking. If you drop some sweet solution on his tongue, he will suck it in, smacking his lips, and vice versa: getting sour or salty into the baby’s mouth will cause a backlash – he will wrinkle, scream, try to clear his throat. A loud sudden sound will make him alert, he will wrinkle his forehead, as if listening, get worried.

The baby distinguishes smells and recognizes his mother by the smell of milk, which is associated for him with pleasant sensations. But the most amazing thing is that the newborn has personality and character! Recent studies have shown how different the reactions of newborns to the same stimuli can be, how different, even in completely healthy children, the level of motor activity, the intensity of expression of emotions, the rhythm of physiological cycles.

Based on a number of such indicators, it is possible with a fairly high degree of probability to predict the future behavior of the child: whether he will grow up docile, sociable, cheerful or overly excitable, emotional, impulsive. In other words, will he become an “easy” or “difficult” child. But knowing a newborn is not enough to predict his life path. A lot depends on what his parents will be like. After all, you see, parents can also be “easy”, that is, loving, patient, calm, able to surround the child with tenderness, create a warm, invariably friendly atmosphere in the house, or “difficult” – nervous, irritable, overly strict and demanding of the child or overprotective of him.

Chapter 1. WAITING FOR THE BABY

These difficult, but overall exciting 9 months are coming to an end! Expecting a baby, parents are completely immersed in pleasant chores. After all, there is so much to do: pick up clothes, buy a crib, a stroller, put the apartment in order, etc.

Some parents try to stock up on clothes and baby care items in advance, which causes great damage to the family budget. Therefore, before you rush to storm children’s stores, carefully think through everything to the smallest detail. The following are guidelines to help you create your initial action plan.

Clothes for your baby

When going shopping or starting knitting, remember that any child grows quickly and a blouse that seemed to fit just a week ago, tomorrow is too small for him. Regardless of the date of birth of the child, you should thoroughly stock up on warm clothes, since in the first days of life the child does not tolerate temperature changes and even a slight cold snap can negatively affect his health.

When preparing a dowry for a baby, each family proceeds from its own material resources, but it is necessary to have enough clothes so that they can be washed and ironed regularly. As a rule, the list of clothes for a newborn includes five undershirts, up to ten warm flannel and approximately 20-25 thin cotton diapers, three or four bonnets (if the house is cool, they should be warm), a warm blanket for sleeping and walking.

The choice of duvet depends on your individual preferences. It can be woolen, wadded or on a synthetic winterizer. A blanket on a synthetic winterizer is advantageous in that it can be washed quite often and it does not lose its original appearance. A woolen blanket is much warmer, but quickly “rolls up” and looks unattractive after several washes.

The above list of clothing is indicative only. In each family, clothes are sewn or bought according to their own financial capabilities, tastes, traditions of raising children in a particular environment. The main requirements for a child’s clothing are convenience and hygiene. The diaper is a piece of gauze folded in several layers. It can be rectangular or triangular in shape. The second option, as time has shown, is preferable, since it is the simplest and most convenient to use.

By now, ready-made diapers made from synthetic materials have already won the trust of many mothers, but these care items should not be used around the clock. Even the most expensive and high quality diapers can irritate your baby’s skin. Try to minimize the use of diapers if you have a son, as prolonged exposure to them leads to overheating of the genitals. Therefore, it is advisable to use ready-made diapers only for walking or for going to the doctor.

After picking up clothes for a small family member, they should be washed and ironed on both sides. Many years of experience suggests that it is better to sew undershirts, bonnets and diapers from cotton fabric that has already been in use.

Care items

A small family member should have separate care items that must be purchased in advance. Currently, in specialized stores you can buy a ready-made kit with all the care items, but it is easy to assemble it yourself.

Among the necessary items are a separate basin or bath for bathing, which should not be used by the rest of the family, a ladle for dousing, a water thermometer. To care for the baby, you will also need a terry sheet or a large towel, sponge, oilcloth, sterile cotton wool.

Include a comb with non-scratching teeth, scissors, a syringe for newborns, pipettes for eyes and nose, and a rubber heating pad. Pay attention also to bottles for artificial feeding. There should be at least two of them: for the mixture (milk) and for water. The glass bottles used by our grandmothers are gradually falling into disuse, and they are being replaced by plastic ones with a variety of designs. They are much safer to use and therefore more durable.

There are currently two types of teats sold with plastic bottles: silicone and latex. The second option is considered the most convenient, since a nipple made of this material will last much longer.

A wide variety of bath products are now on the market. Remember that children’s skin, and especially the skin of a newborn, is extremely sensitive to various chemical compounds, so you should only use special baby soap and shampoo. To disinfect water, you need to stock up on potassium permanganate, and to soften the skin of a child after bathing, use baby cream and sterilized vaseline or vegetable oil. The necessary items also include powder, which softens and soothes irritated skin well.

Stroller and crib

It is better to buy a baby cot in advance, as it immediately becomes necessary to place it correctly. Today there is a huge variety of cribs, but in fact they are all variants of one model. A bed with a reclining side wall is extremely convenient to use, since in this case you do not need to additionally purchase a special changing table: the diaper and diaper can be changed right in the bed.

The material from which the crib is made practically does not matter, the main thing is that it is stable, safe and easy to care for. In order to protect the child from flies and mosquitoes, in the summer it is advisable to hang a canopy made of light fabric over the crib, which will additionally protect against drafts and bright light.

Many parents feel that a stroller is not an important item for a baby and that it is also a significant investment. Do not spare the money, and she will pay for them. The baby can sleep in it if the weather is warm, and in winter it will reliably protect him from the cold wind. When buying a stroller, pay attention to the fact that it is high – this will prevent dust and exhaust gases from getting inside. Choose a stroller with soft springs to ensure a smooth and even ride.

It is unacceptable to buy a stroller with low sides: over time, the child will start to sit up and may fall out of it. An important aspect is the internal coating. It should be made of washable material of a soft color.

Car Seat and Playpen

Car seat will be needed as your baby grows and moves more. In this case, you can not do without a chair. In the first time after the birth of a child, you can use the cradle from the stroller, but it is inconvenient from a safety point of view.

When buying a seat, be sure to try it on in your car (some models are not suitable for all brands). It is also important to secure the seat well before driving.

Some companies offer a car seat combined with a stroller. Usually this chair is for the smallest, from about birth to six months. The chair is semi-sitting, equipped with a comfortable handle, and the child in such a chair can be carried along the street, taken with you to visit, to the store, placed in the kitchen while you are preparing dinner. True, such models are not cheap.

The playpen becomes an urgent need already at the age of 3-4 months. By this time, the baby is quite actively beginning to crawl on his back, pushing off with his feet from a hard surface. Being in bed all the time is boring for him, and the playpen gives new impressions. In addition, the playpen can be placed, for example, in the kitchen, and the child will be able to watch his mother, and she will be calm for him.

If the bottom of the arena is covered with oilcloth, in warm weather the baby can be put on one diaper undressed, which will have a very favorable effect on the condition of his skin.

By about 6 months, when the baby begins to actively crawl and shows real skill in this new skill, the playpen should be used less and less, gradually transferring the baby to the floor. After all, the space of the arena is very limited, and there are few goals for research in it. But do not be discouraged – the arena will still come in handy for you: when traveling to the country or traveling, it can be successfully used as a crib. Of course, this applies to a small foldable playpen that easily fits in the trunk of a car.

Children’s table, high chair, jumpers and walkers

Children’s high chair and table are indispensable when the baby begins to sit on his own. Until this moment, it is not recommended to seat the baby on a highchair. As for the models, then there are options. It is better not to purchase a wooden domestic chair, as it is very unstable and uncomfortable. If you have sufficient funds, it is better to invest in a good imported chair, which can take different positions in height, allows you to adjust the position of the table, tilt the footrest and, thanks to the oilcloth base, is easy to clean. The latter circumstance is very important when a child learns to independently wield a spoon. As for walkers and jumpers, the attitude of parents to these devices is ambiguous. Those who use them assure that they are very good, develop, delight the child and no negative consequences are observed.

Opponents of the use of walkers claim that they distort the legs and that the child begins to walk later. It is difficult to determine who is right, but one thing is clear: it is quite possible to do without walkers, as well as without jumpers. But really indispensable for parents leading an active lifestyle is the “kangaroo”, which is a convenient backpack for carrying children, which, taking into account the age of the baby, has a different design and, importantly, lasts a long time. At the same time, it can be hung both on the stomach and on the back, and the hands of mom or dad remain free.

Preparing the apartment for the birth of a child

Before the birth of a child, it is necessary to take care of the cleanliness of the apartment. Do not try to achieve absolute sterility, you still will not succeed, and for the child it does not play any role. The main thing is that the apartment, and especially the room where the child will be, is clean.

In some cases, the nursery room is being renovated. Before you bring the baby from the maternity hospital, be sure to ventilate the room, because even a slight smell of paint can lead to poisoning of the newborn.

In the event that you did not make repairs in the room, you should still carry out a general cleaning before the birth of the child. Choose a corner for the crib in advance: it should stand in a warm, well-ventilated place, as far as possible from common rooms.

Do not place the crib near a window or central heating radiator. The child needs a constant supply of fresh air, at the same time it is impossible for the crib to stand in a draft.

After rearranging the furniture, thoroughly clean all corners of the apartment. First of all, pay attention to carpets and upholstered furniture, as they accumulate the most dust.

Choose a bright room for your newborn, where the rays of sunlight can freely penetrate. It is better to remove heavy dark curtains and flower pots from the windows. In this case, more sunlight will penetrate into the room, which will have a beneficial effect on the health of the child.

Chapter 2. FEATURES OF THE PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE BABY

The first acquaintance with a newborn child takes place in the maternity hospital, where usually the mother cannot properly examine her baby, nor stay with him as much as she wants. It is possible to get to know a new family member closer only at home.

First look

The appearance of a newborn may surprise and even frighten parents, as the child is completely different from the common images of beautiful chubby babies that can be seen everywhere.

Newborn’s face is often puffy, swollen, sometimes wrinkled, reddish or yellowish. The body of the baby is covered with a gentle soft fluff.

Baby’s yellowish skin tone is a sign of neonatal jaundice. Under the supervision of a doctor, this is not a cause for concern. Jaundice is associated with increased production by the liver during this period of the coloring bile pigment – bilirubin.

The child’s head may have quite thick and long hair. However, most often there is little hair, sometimes they are absent. Do not be surprised at this: each child has his own individual characteristics of the body, the presence or absence of hair at the time of birth does not mean anything.

The head circumference of a newborn child is usually 34-36 cm. The head is often disproportionately large compared to the body, is 1 / 4 part of the body length, but this discrepancy disappears with time. The shape of the head can also be different: in some children it is round, in others it is slightly elongated, sometimes asymmetrical. The facial part of the skull is small.

On the head of a newborn there are discrepancies between the individual bones of the skull, between which there are fontanelles – areas of soft tissue. The largest fontanel is located above the forehead of the child. Lightly touching it, you can feel the pulsation of the vessels of the brain – light tremors. The fontanel is tightened with a membrane and has a diamond shape. It is located at the junction of the frontal and parietal bones. Behind this fontanel, at the junction of the parietal and occipital bones, there is a small triangular fontanel.

With age, ossification occurs in the membranes of the fontanelles. A small fontanel is completely overgrown by 3 months, a large one – by 12–15. The bones of the skull fuse by 3-4 months. Full fusion of the frontal, parietal, occipital and temporal bones of the skull occurs in the 3-4th year of a child’s life.

The color of the eyes in newborns is most often blue, since there is no coloring pigment in the iris yet. Over time, the child’s eyes will acquire the color inherent in them by nature, inherited from one of the parents.

The spine of a newborn is soft, the vertebrae are cartilaginous, so the spine does not curve like in an adult. Its limbs are rather thin, the legs, compared with the body, are short.

The baby’s chest is barrel-shaped, it becomes flat later. His ribs are soft, so the body of the newborn is very supple and flexible.

In the first weeks after birth, the child tends to maintain the position in which he was in the womb, so most often his limbs are bent and pressed to the body. You should not sharply straighten the baby’s legs when swaddling, as this can harm his soft bones.

A healthy newborn baby responds to hot and cold touch and has developed taste. For example, when feeding with sweets, it expresses pleasure, and when it tastes bitter or sour, it frowns or cries.

A full-term baby from birth has well developed all unconditioned reflexes – sucking, swallowing, reaction to bright light and a grasping reflex.

If you put a finger in a newborn’s hand, he will grab it and even hang on to it for a while.

A newborn baby is not yet able to control his body, so he may be frightened by his own sudden movements or sharp sounds. Reacting to this, the baby begins to cry, frantically move his limbs.

The body temperature of a newborn baby is somewhat dependent on the ambient temperature, which must be taken into account when swaddling and changing the baby. Hypothermia and overheating are very harmful for a small child, as they create favorable conditions for the occurrence of inflammatory diseases.

On the inside of the lips of a newborn baby there are peculiar ridges. These rollers are designed for sucking. The mucous membrane of the oral cavity is colored bright red because the blood vessels are located very close to its surface. On closer examination, yellowish-white dots can be seen on the midline of the hard palate.

After birth, the child adapts for some time to the new conditions of life outside the mother’s womb. Getting used to the new environment, his body is rebuilt. In this case, the child is in a state where it may seem that he is sick. You should not worry because you think that the baby is not all right. The transitional state of newborns is quite a common phenomenon that every child experiences in the first days of his life.

All babies, regardless of gender, experience a sexual crisis in the first weeks of life, due to the fact that maternal hormones enter the child’s body. The mammary glands swell, sometimes a liquid similar to milk is released from them when pressed. In boys, the scrotum swells, in girls, discharge from the genitals appears. These phenomena gradually pass by themselves, without requiring any treatment. If the sexual crisis has dragged on, you can apply a warm, dry bandage to the chest or genitals of the child.

Some babies are born with grayish pigment spots on the buttocks, thighs or coccyx. These spots can be of various shapes and sizes. They do not rise above the surface of the skin. Do not worry, in the first years of life, these spots disappear. Why they occur is still unknown.

Due to the fact that the sweat glands of a newborn child are not yet developed and cannot function to their full potential, they often become blocked. From this, yellowish-white pimples the size of a grain of millet may appear on the face of the baby. Most often, these pimples are located on the wings of the nose, sometimes on the cheeks or forehead of the child.

A significant number of newborns in the first weeks of life can see redness on the feet and hands. It is caused by dilation of the capillaries in the extremities, which is called physiological catarrh of the skin. Over time, the redness goes away.

Some babies have red spots on the forehead, back of the head or eyelids. If you press lightly on such a spot with your finger, it turns pale, and then appears again. As the child grows, these spots become paler, but when the child screams, cries, or if he is tense, these spots appear again on the skin. In a small number of children, they remain for a long time, in the majority they quickly disappear.

The digestive system of newborns in the first weeks, even months, adapts to the new conditions of a child’s life, like his entire body. In this regard, deviations are observed in the work of the gastrointestinal tract.

Often the child spits up food after feeding, sometimes vomiting occurs. Regurgitation occurs as a result of the fact that part of the food after feeding rises from the stomach, which is not located in the same way as in adults – horizontally, but is in a semi-vertical position, as a result of which food easily moves in the opposite direction. Regurgitation occurs in almost all newborns: some after every feeding, some only occasionally. This phenomenon is quite common and does not require any treatment.

Vomiting after feeding often occurs in nervous, excitable children. There is nothing unusual about this either. If the child is not sick, growing well and gaining weight, you should not worry about vomiting, but you need to pay attention to its nature. In the event that vomiting does not go away for a long time, especially if it is plentiful – a fountain, you should immediately call a doctor, as this may be a sign of some kind of disease.

The question often arises whether to feed a child after vomiting. You need to pay attention to how the baby behaves. If he is calm and happy, you do not need to feed him, and if he cries, then he is hungry and should be fed.

If your baby is prone to vomiting, you should take this into account and try to feed in a calm environment. Nothing should disturb the baby, he should be comfortable in your arms, it is necessary to exclude the appearance of strangers and noise in the room during feeding.

After feeding, many children experience incomprehensible anxiety, the child cries, randomly moves his legs. Most often, the reason for this behavior of the newborn is bloating. In some cases, bloating occurs because the child swallowed too much air along with food. In order for excess air to come out, it is necessary to hold the baby in an upright position immediately after feeding for some time.

Sometimes babies hiccup after feeding. The causes of hiccups are not exactly established, perhaps the child hiccups because he swallowed air. Sometimes hiccups occur due to hypothermia. Stopping hiccups is not easy. Most often, children hiccup for a long time. It is helpful to give the baby some warm water or help him burp the extra air.

The body of a baby has no fundamental differences from the body of an adult: it consists of the same organs that are located in the same way as in adults; the functions performed by the organs of an infant are the same as in an adult. However, the body of the child has some differences.

Caring for a newborn baby [from the first days] – a complete guide for parents

The first days of a newborn’s life: what you need to know

The nuances of caring for a baby require attention and patience from adults, because a delicate children’s body is an easy target for bacteria and microbes. We will analyze how to care for a newborn baby in the first month step by step so that the baby grows up healthy and happy.

How to care for your newborn’s skin

One of the important tasks in caring for a newborn in the first month of life is to maintain the good condition of delicate and sensitive skin prone to dryness. Simple recommendations for caring for a newborn will help to cope with common problems of children’s skin.

Do not rush to immediately buy the entire range of cosmetics for babies: simple water is enough to care for the skin of a newborn in the first months. If necessary, you can add a couple of drops of potassium permanganate, string or chamomile to the bath – but you should not do this often.

As the baby develops, you can gradually add care products: three main positions will be enough for this:

  • Gentle cleansing: gel, cream or oil, which will help to gently remove impurities, moisturize and soothe the skin. All these properties are possessed by products from the Lipikar(1) line. For example, Lipikar Gel Lavant(2), a soothing shower gel with protective properties for sensitive skin of babies, children and adults, is an all-in-one cleanser for the whole family. Choose a package with a dispenser: it is very convenient for caring for a newborn, as you can use the product with one hand while bathing.
  • Moisturizing cream for treating the skin after bathing. Look for light textures that are quickly absorbed, intensively moisturize and restore. With Shea Butter, La Roche-Posay Thermal Water and Niacinamide, Lipikar Lait(3) Hypoallergenic Milk formula nourishes and hydrates for up to 48 hours, providing long-lasting comfort to even the driest, most sensitive and delicate skin.
  • Diaper cream with antibacterial ingredients that improves skin repair and soothes. The cream can be applied after every diaper change to prevent or relieve irritation.

How to care for your baby’s umbilical cord

The rest of the umbilical cord falls off 4-6 days after birth, exposing a small wound. The umbilical wound is the most vulnerable area on the baby’s body, it can serve as a gateway for bacteria and microbes. In the first days of a newborn’s life, it is necessary to treat frequently. Care instructions will be given by a doctor or nurse. What else do you need to know about caring for an umbilical wound? If it has not healed after 10-14 days, this is an occasion to contact a pediatrician.

Newborn scalp care

The formation of milk (seborrheic) crusts is a natural process, they appear in every second baby up to a year and do not cause discomfort. In the first months, the sebaceous and sweat glands of the baby do not fully cope with the load. Excess sebum mixes with dead skin cells and forms yellowish growths. This condition, like any adaptation mechanism, passes over time – but if the crusts interfere with the care of the baby, they can be removed.

  • Apply a little oil (eg Vaseline) to the head and put on a cap for 30-60 minutes.
  • Remove the cap and gently massage the affected area with your fingertips.
  • Bathe the baby: the water will gently wash away the softened crusts.
  • If not all the crusts have come off on their own, do not remove them – repeat the procedure after a few days.

Under no circumstances should the scabs be combed dry – the risk of damaging the skin and causing infection is too high. As you have already noticed, the rules for caring for a newborn are united by the main principle – strict adherence to safety precautions.

How to properly clean your baby’s ears and nose

The baby’s nose is cleaned with a tightly twisted cotton tourniquet: insert it into the nostril and carefully turn around the axis. If the scabs are dry and won’t budge, use baby nasal drops or some warm petroleum jelly to soften them. Use cotton swabs to clean your nose with caution: cotton wool can remain in the nasal passages, and the plastic base can damage the delicate mucous membrane.

When caring for a newborn baby, you should clean your ears very carefully, without getting into the ear canals. It is necessary to wipe only the auricle and the area behind the ears.

How to care for the eyes of a newborn

Newborn care recommendations include daily eye cleaning to help prevent infections. As a rule, crusts and small lumps of white discharge accumulate in the corners of the eyes in babies. In the morning, after waking up, the eyes of an infant are treated with a cotton pad dipped in warm boiled water, from the outer corner to the bridge of the nose. For each eye – a separate piece of cotton wool.

How to cut baby’s nails

Newborn nails are very sharp, the baby can easily injure the face and body, so 10-14 days after birth, it’s time to start cutting them every 5-7 days – or more often if the nails grow too quickly.

It is easiest to trim your nails after bathing, when they are soft and steamed, and the baby himself is relaxed and in a good mood. Take children’s scissors with rounded ends, treat with alcohol and cut the nails with confident movements: on the hands – in the form of a semicircle, on the legs – in a straight line to avoid ingrown corners.

Intimate hygiene for girls and boys

It is necessary to wash the baby from the first days of life before each diaper change. It is most convenient to do this in the sink, under running water – and use wet wipes only outside the home. Do not rush to put on a diaper: arrange air baths for your baby so that the skin folds dry out. Apply cream under the diaper, do a light massage.

How to care for a newborn girl to protect the genitals from the penetration of pathogens? Wash it from front to back – dirt from the anus will not enter the vagina and urethra. Treat small labia with a cotton swab with vaseline oil, gently removing white discharge. They are completely normal for a baby, but can cause itching and redness if not removed daily. Caring for a newborn boy is much easier: you can wash it in any direction.

Bathing tips for newborns

Bathing for the first time can be exciting and awkward, but over time it becomes a favorite ritual that creates a special bond between parents and baby. Here are some simple rules and tips to help you take care of your newborn while bathing:

  • The best time to bathe is in the evenings, before feeding, as warm water relaxes the baby and helps him fall asleep faster. But if after the bath the baby, on the contrary, becomes more cheerful, it is better to transfer the bath to the morning hours. The main thing is to bathe at the same time every day in order to develop a habit and normalize the regimen.
  • It is most convenient to bathe a baby in a special bath, especially with a slide. An older baby from two months old can splash in a large bathtub, which must be thoroughly cleaned before each procedure.
  • The optimum water temperature for a baby is about 37°C so that it does not freeze and does not overheat, and the air in the bathroom is 24°C.
  • Bathe your newborn with a cleanser no more than 1-2 times a week to maintain the hydro-lipid mantle of the skin.
  • Before bathing, have a towel, clean clothes and necessary cosmetics at arm’s length so that you do not leave your child alone even for a split second.
  • Gently submerge the baby in the water, first the legs and then the whole body. First wash the baby, then rinse the arms and legs, paying attention to each skin fold. Clean the perineum last.
  • The optimal duration of the first bath is 5 minutes. For older children, it is up to 20-30 minutes. Bathing frequency – from 3 to 7 times a week.
  • After bathing, gently pat your baby’s skin to remove excess moisture. Do not crush under any circumstances! Apply moisturizer, put on a diaper, clean clothes – and you can get ready for bed!

It is difficult to remember the peculiarities of caring for a newborn at the first time, but gradually you will begin to easily cope with the child, as if you always knew how to do it. Ask for support from loved ones, take time to relax – and get as much pleasure from the new stage of life as possible!

Baby skin care: baby skin care products, newborn skin care rules

What is the most important thing for every mom? Of course, this is health. The good health of her children. And it begins with personal hygiene, which is provided first by the baby’s parents, and then by the grown child himself.

Features of the child’s skin

Complete care of children’s skin is possible only if you know its features well.

In infants, the skin is in the process of development. They are still immature and just in the process of growing. In newborns and infants under 1 year of age, the epidermis (the layer that performs a protective function) is 2-3 times thinner than in older children and adults. Therefore, the skin of a very young child is more delicate and sensitive, which means that the likelihood of irritation in places of friction is very high.

Sweat and sebaceous glands of newborns have a special structure. In a small child, the sweat glands are located very densely, and their number is sometimes 6-7 times more than in an adult. Such features can lead to their underdevelopment, which negatively affects the thermoregulation of the body. In fact, children under 6 months of age do not have this function. That is why there is a high risk of hypothermia or overheating of the child when the temperature changes. In addition, in the heat, children develop irritation and itching. Sweat glands fully develop only by the end of the 1st year of a child’s life. The sebaceous glands in children also have features. First, they are much larger than in adults. Secondly, they usually function with some margin. Excessive secretions of the sebaceous glands sometimes lead to a number of problems. For example, if this process is very active in the head area, then so-called milk crusts can form in the crown region, and small cysts can form near the nose and areas located next to it. With the growth of the child, the work of the sebaceous glands is normalized.

Skin of a child has a developed network of capillaries and increased vascular permeability . This feature, on the one hand, increases the risk of infection spreading through the bloodstream, and on the other hand, promotes effective gas exchange. We can say that the child literally breathes through the skin. In other words, the protective function of the epidermis of a newborn is inferior to that of an adult, but the respiratory function is much superior. This feature largely determines that babies have a beautiful pink-pearl skin tone.

The stratum corneum of a young child contains a large amount of water and very few lipids. This feature leads to the fact that water-soluble substances pass through children’s skin more easily than through the skin of adults. In addition, infants have significantly developed subcutaneous fat. The ratio of hypodermis mass to body weight in babies is five times higher than in adults. This suggests that when exposed to harmful substances, the intoxication of the child’s body will be stronger and develop faster than in an adult.

Skin newborns have an almost neutral pH of . In a child, it is approximately 6.5, and in an adult – 5.5. Nevertheless, this indicator in infants decreases quite quickly: during the first month of life, the pH reaches 5.5. The child has an acid mantle (a slightly acidic mixture of sweat and sebum), which provides protection against pathogens and creates conditions for the development of normal microflora. At the same time, it is quite sensitive to negative external influences and is easily damaged by applied preparations that are not intended for child skin care.

Before the age of six months, the melanin pigment in newborns is secreted in a very small volume. This fact suggests that the skin of the baby is practically defenseless against the action of UV rays.

Thus, children’s skin is very delicate, thin and easily vulnerable, susceptible to microbes and toxic substances, prone to water balance disorders, sensitive to negative environmental influences. That is why proper daily skin care for a child is of particular importance. It should be carried out using delicate means for children’s hygiene.

Basic hygiene procedures for children

Washing and washing hands . This procedure in the first months of a child’s life should be especially accurate. To do this, the face and hands of the newborn should be regularly wiped with swabs dipped in boiled water. To process each eye, you need to take a new cotton pad. From 5-6 months, the child can be washed with ordinary running water at room temperature without the use of tampons. From 2–2.5 years old, children need to be taught hygiene skills so that they learn to take care of their bodies on their own. The child should be able to properly wash, wash their hands before eating, after going to the toilet, as well as in case of any contamination (after walking, playing with sand, communicating with animals, etc.).

Bathing . Full-fledged water procedures can be started only after the umbilical cord falls off. In the first six months, when the baby’s skin is very tender and vulnerable, a hygienic bath should be done every day. Such a procedure not only ensures the cleanliness of the body, it contributes to the normalization of all skin functions, stimulation of blood circulation, strengthening of the nervous and immune systems, and psychomotor development of the child. Bathing babies older than 6 months can be done every other day, and after 1 year – 2 times a week. When reaching the age of 3, it is enough to take a bath once a week. Washing and washing the feet should be done daily.

Babies with an incompletely healed umbilical wound should be bathed in boiled water, sometimes a little potassium permanganate can be added. When the child gets stronger, ordinary tap water is drawn into the bath. It is very useful for babies to bathe in a decoction of herbs. Chamomile, nettle, string, lavender and juniper have anti-inflammatory and soothing effects. The baby bath before bathing the child must be washed with hot water and soap, then put a clean diaper or a special mat on its bottom. The temperature of the poured water should not exceed 36-37 ° C, and the air in the bathroom – 22 ° C (for children in the first months of life), later – 20 ° C. It is necessary to immerse the child in the bath very carefully, the head must be placed on the forearm.

In the first days of life, the child’s body should be washed by hand, a little later with a soft sponge or mitten. For this, ordinary water is used. Bathing babies using baby skin care products is not necessary every day, but 2-3 times a week. It is very important to ensure that water does not get into the eyes, ears and nose. First you need to wash the body of the child, then the head, and then wash with warm boiled water.

Wipe and care . After bathing the baby, you need to carefully wipe it with a soft towel, special attention should be paid to the folds. They can be treated with special baby skin care products. Ears and nose are cleaned with soft cotton swabs. Scissors with rounded tips are used to trim fingernails and toenails. They can be wiped with alcohol first. The bath after bathing should be thoroughly washed and dried.

Treatment of inguinal folds and buttocks . This is especially true for children who wear diapers. Under them, the skin is in very unpleasant conditions: the level of humidity is increased, there is not enough oxygen, in addition, tender places are rubbed and are constantly in contact with natural children’s secretions (urine and feces). In this regard, it is necessary to treat delicate areas with special means as regularly as changing a diaper. Moisture makes the baby’s skin vulnerable, so prolonged contact with it increases the likelihood of irritation. Before putting on a diaper, the child should be left without clothes for a while (arrange an “air bath” for him). MIRRA offers a specially developed product for baby skin care in especially delicate areas – DIAPER CREAM-GEL with zinc oxide and calendula.

Baby skin care products

We answered the question “how to provide the child with the necessary hygiene?”. Now you need to figure out in more detail what tools can be used for this purpose. The first thing that comes to mind for most parents is baby soap for baby skin care. It has been known for more than a dozen years, it was used by our mothers and grandmothers. It seems that everyone was always happy with him, because the children grew up normally. But today, scientists have decided to improve ordinary baby soap, as it has already been proven that its constant use damages the acid mantle. This is due to the fact that this tool always has an alkaline reaction, and therefore changes the pH of the skin (dries it).

It is better to refuse the use of ordinary soap for hygienic purposes (washing hands, bathing, caring for delicate places, etc.). For these purposes, we suggest using a modern cleanser: HYGIENIC FOAM for children. This NEW product in the BABY SKIN CARE series is specially designed for gentle and gentle cleansing of the skin of a child of any age. Foam can be used from the first days of a baby’s life. The soft surfactants included in its composition are excellent for children’s cosmetics. The pH of the foam is natural, so it does not irritate or dry out the baby’s sensitive skin.

The foam contains glyceryl oleic acid. This ingredient is produced from sunflower, in its structure it is similar to the natural components of sebum. In addition, it helps to strengthen and preserve the lipid layer of the baby’s skin. Foam is great for frequent use. It also contains healing extracts of aloe, chamomile and yarrow. They have anti-inflammatory, antiallergic, softening, analgesic, moisturizing, regenerating, soothing and wound healing effects. Such extracts have been known for a long time and are widely used for the manufacture of children’s cosmetics. As you know, proven products are the best choice in matters relating to the health of the child. In addition, the composition of the foam includes moisturizing ingredients (glycerin and urea) and an antioxidant (vitamin E). Thanks to the above ingredients, the product helps to maintain the natural protective function of the delicate skin of the child, while not affecting the mechanisms of self-regulation, self-defense and self-healing.

As a result, we note that careful care of the baby, as a rule, allows you to keep his skin healthy. And our cleansers (for example, HYGIENIC FOAM for children) will make daily hygiene procedures safer and more complete, and will also give mom happy moments of communication with her baby. You no longer have to look for something and worry for a long time, because the MIRRA children’s cosmetics from the BABY line perfectly complement and enhance each other’s action.

Oksana Ivanova
leading technologist, assistant of the department of technology of chemical-pharmaceutical and cosmetic products DI. Mendeleev.

Literature:
1. Dribnokhod Yu.Yu. Cosmetology. Ed. 9th, add. and reworked. Rostov n / a: Phoenix, 2013. – 779 p.: ill. – (Secondary vocational education).

2. Margolina A.A., Hernandez E.I. New cosmetology. Volume I. M .: Firma CLAVEL LLC, 2005. – 424 p.: ill.

3. Goncharova Yu.A. Age anatomy, physiology and hygiene. Tutorial. Publishing and Printing Center of Voronezh State University, 2008.

P.S. While washing a very young child, you can cheer up with funny rhymes.

Water, water,

Wash my face,

To make the little eyes shine,

To make cheeks blush,

To laugh mouth,

To bite a tooth.

And an older child can have an entertaining education about personal hygiene. You can start it with a poem by M. Stelmakh “The stork is washing.”

On the water under the willow

Stork walks barefoot,

Because this bird is

Used to wash in the morning.

Touches a vine with its beak,

Dew shakes itself,

And shower silver

Washes the neck clean-clean

And does not whimper: “Oh, trouble,

Oh, cold water!”

Next, it is worth talking about the rules for caring for your body.

  1. Wash your face every morning. Water procedures include washing hands, face, neck and ears. They also need to be carried out after walks and at night.
  2. Wash your feet before going to bed . It is necessary to regularly clean the skin of the feet from sweat and dirt accumulated during the day.
  3. Wash your entire body at least once a week. You can bathe at home in a bath or shower, as well as in a sauna. To get rid of sweat, grease and dirt, you need to wash with warm water, rubbing the body with a washcloth with a hygiene product. After bathing, put on clean underwear.
  4. The hair must be rinsed very thoroughly. It is on them that a large amount of sebum, dust and dirt accumulates. After water procedures it is necessary to comb.
  5. Nails require careful care . Fingers should be neatly trimmed once a week, and toes should be trimmed once every 2 weeks. Taking care of these parts of the body is extremely important, as long nails accumulate dirt that is difficult to remove. In addition, you can scratch yourself and another person. Dirty nails are a sign of carelessness and slovenliness, such a person usually does not follow the rules of personal hygiene.
  6. It is important to keep your hands clean at all times . During the day, we touch a variety of objects (pencils, pens, books, notebooks, balls, doorknobs, etc.). Many people love petting pets. Often we may not see the microscopic particles of dirt that remain on our hands, but this does not mean that they are not there. If you later take bread, an apple or sweets with such hands, then the microbes will first get on the food, and with them into the body. And it threatens with poisoning.

It is important to remember that no rules for caring for one’s own body will teach a child to observe personal hygiene if his family does not set an example for him.

This material was prepared on the basis of the training program “Rules and Skills of Personal Hygiene”, compiled by Natalia Mirskaya, Candidate of Medical Sciences, Research Institute of Public Health and Health Management. THEM. Sechenov.

*When using the materials of the article, a hyperlink to the source is required

Similar products in the MIRRA catalog:
Baby cream with wheat germ flour and water lily / Diaper cream-gel with zinc oxide and calendula / Baby hygiene foam

Tips on how to calm a crying baby

Crying for a child is a way of communication, but despite its naturalness , it would be useful to try to calm a crying baby. It is logical that parents will have a question: “How to calm the child?” This may seem like a daunting task at times, but understanding the reasons will help you learn how to soothe a crying baby. Remember: you are doing great. We just want to give you some useful tips to help ease your worries.

If you have any questions or concerns about your baby’s crying, seek medical advice. Sometimes crying can be a sign of an existing medical condition, so it’s best to pay attention to any additional symptoms right away.

Why does your baby cry

Baby crying is not only natural but also expected, especially during the first three months of life. Babies usually cry for an hour every day for the first few weeks. At about six weeks old, your baby may cry for up to two hours a day, and from eight weeks on, again for about one hour a day. However, remember that all babies are different and cry differently! 1

Crying is a way of saying something is wrong. When it comes to learning how to soothe a crying baby, it’s important to understand what exactly is causing her anxiety. Your baby may cry if: 1

  • he is hungry;
  • baby has belching or bloating;
  • need a diaper change;
  • he wants to sleep;
  • wants to be picked up or rocked;
  • baby hot or cold;
  • baby has colic;
  • feels uncomfortable: wants to roll over, presses on diaper or clothes, or tight swaddling interferes with baby;
  • the baby is teething.

If your baby cries for more than three hours a day and more than three days a week, he may be suffering from colic. However, this is not a cause for panic, and there are several ways to soothe a child with colic. Find out here about colic, its symptoms, and how to soothe a baby with colic.

If you think reflux (regurgitation) may be the cause of your crying, you can learn more about the different types of reflux and how to manage it here.

Be sure to contact your baby’s doctor if your baby seems ill or has the following symptoms in addition to excessive crying: 1

  • fever;
  • shortness of breath or cough;
  • vomiting;
  • diarrhea;
  • rash;
  • crying worse when the child is picked up or moved;
  • increased irritability or lethargy.

How to soothe a crying baby

Once you have ruled out some potential causes of crying, you will have a better idea of ​​how to soothe your baby. The most important thing to remember is not to get upset and stay as calm as possible.

Here are some tips and advice on how to calm your baby: 2

1. Swaddle your baby.

One of the most useful techniques to soothe a crying baby is swaddling. When doing this, make sure that you do not cover the child’s head and do not overheat him. Don’t swaddle your baby too tight: swaddling too tightly can interfere with your baby’s natural body position, breathing, and blood circulation: your baby may not like it, causing him to cry. Don’t swaddle your baby when he starts to roll over, which usually happens around four months of age.

2. Take the child in your arms and comfort.

When your baby is crying, it’s natural for you to want to pick him up. And when your newborn cries for no reason, he probably wants to be picked up. If you’re trying to calm your baby at night, try keeping him upright or in a rocking chair until he falls asleep. Any gentle strokes or vibrations can be very soothing. You can also give your baby an ultra soft pacifier, which is recommended for soothing newborns. This pacifier will help your baby feel comfortable and safe.

Proper care requires certain rules and skills. In general, care activities are divided into daily and weekly. Naturally, this division is conditional. If your baby needs a certain procedure, then it can and should be done more often.

Daily childcare

Wash your baby every morning with warm boiled water. For washing, it is better to use cotton wool, but you can wipe the baby’s face with your hand.

Eye care

The baby’s eyes should be treated with a cotton pad previously moistened with boiled water. If you notice that the baby’s eyes are more dirty than usual, then use a solution of furacilin.

Washing the eyes of a child is carried out strictly from the outer corner of the eye to the inner. A new cotton pad should be used for each eye.

Take care of your baby’s organs of vision from birth. Under no circumstances should you allow yourself to look at the sun and generally avoid exposing your baby’s eyes to very bright light. This also applies to flash, you need to use it with extreme caution. You should not expose your child’s eyes to sudden changes in light; at night, you should use a floor lamp under a green shade or a table lamp.

Bathing and washing

Newborns should be washed in running water after each bowel movement. You can not wash the baby in a basin or bath – an infection can get into the genitourinary tract.

Girls are washed under a warm stream by hand strictly in the direction from front to back. It should be remembered that before starting the washing procedure, it is imperative to check the temperature of the water. After you have washed your baby, put it on the changing table and dry the baby’s skin with blotting movements. The folds of the baby can be smeared with a cotton swab dipped in baby cream or sterile sunflower oil.

Weekly care

Baby nose care

Newborns have very small nasal passages, so even a slight blockage can cause breathing difficulties.

Baby’s nasal passages can become clogged with dust, hairs from clothes or blankets, irritated by cigarette smoke, so they need to be cleaned with sterile cotton flagella.

The flagellum is soaked in vegetable or vaseline oil and inserted with rotational movements into the child’s nasal passage no more than a centimeter. Take a new flagellum for each nasal passage. Carefully monitor the purity of the air, try to prevent its pollution.

Baby ear care


The child’s hearing needs to be treated very carefully. Clean your baby’s ears regularly. If you observe sulfur emissions, there is no need to panic, this is a normal process. Together with it, dust and microorganisms come out of the outer ear. In fact, there is a process of self-purification. To avoid the appearance of sulfur plugs, excess sulfur must be removed with a clean cotton swab. Remember to do this carefully. Do not penetrate deep into the ear canals, otherwise you risk injuring the baby’s delicate skin or injuring the eardrum.

Nail care

Cut your child’s nails in time. It happens that some newborns are born with rather long nails, and if they are not cut, the baby risks scratching himself. Baby nails grow fast enough, so they should be trimmed often, otherwise they begin to bend and break. To cut your baby’s nails, use special baby tweezers or safety news. While cutting the nail, press the baby on the pad of the finger so as not to accidentally touch the skin. If the wound still happened, then a sterile bandage should be applied to the wound and held until the bleeding stops completely. It is best to cut nails when the baby is sleeping and completely relaxed.