mettelw

Thanks for this, sounds good - I'll look into it! I was also thinking of trampolining or a more formal gymnastics class - still not sure whether she is old enough if anyone has any advice?

My daughter is coming up to 2 1/2 years and is absolutely fearless, physically, and loves nothing more than to climb, jump, cling, etc etc. We think that she might love a gymnastics class, but are not sure whether there will be any classes / sessions for her age group and a search of the internet has not thrown up a lot of local stuff. Any advice or hints on classes/clubs would be much appreciated!!

We've just had a lovely new Danish au pair join us and both she and we are keen that she makes some friends locally. She is a lovely, lively, outgoing girl. However, as she is our first au pair I don't know whether there are good places for au pairs to meet up. Any tips on how to facilitate her getting involved would be much appreciated!

Ask your midwife, she'll be able to give you the details. And yes, they are usually around 19:00 in the evenings.

My daughter is in a nursery in Herne Hill but the things we looked for were the things that ryedalema mentions. In addition, we looked at how much the children get out and about (integration into the local community - trips to the park/library/local schools/trips on trains but also involvement in 'the outside', not only outdoor space - at our nursery, for instance, the children have their own little garden where they grow vegetables and they sleep in the shade under the trees in the summer when it is very hot). Something else that I like about my daughter's nursery is that the children mix across age boundaries. Obviously, the babies have their own room, but in late afternoon all children are in the same, large room and this has worked very well for my daughter who loves spending time with the older children. Obviously, if you have a shy and sensitive child, you'd want to look for the opposite. However, most importantly, try to get a feel for whether the children are cared for and 'loved'. We didn't enroll our daughter in some nurseries where the focus was quite 'school style' in favour of nurseries where the focus was on freedom to play and lots and lots of love. And yes, you should start getting on the waiting lists now, however bizarre that may feel! Good luck!

Gosh, you are better prepared than I was - I somehow couldn't start looking for nurseries until my daughter had been born. Anyway, Nellie's Nursery has a two year waiting list (certainly that's what I was told last summer) so now is not too early to get on the list there. Good luck!