The Best Beginning

12/11/2025

Strep throat is a common childhood illness, but in a few children this bacteria infection can lead to alarming, lasting changes in behaviour.

06/11/2025

Our sense of mattering—the feeling that we are valued and have value to add to the world—is a key ingredient for lifelong well-being, and it begins in the earliest days of infancy. While it’s never too late to build a sense of mattering, when we start early, we can have an outsized positive effect on children’s health and well-being across their lifespan.

In our new paper, co-authored with Jennifer B. Wallace, learn more about the science around mattering in early childhood, including what mattering means, the powerful effects of mattering on lifelong health and well-being, and strategies for building a sense of mattering in our children.

📚 Read the paper here: https://bit.ly/43bXRaX

28/08/2025

If a relative dies when a child is very young or before they were born, they can feel confused, excluded or upset others have memories they can't share in.

For ways of helping them connect with the person and ideas on how others can help, including school, visit: childbereavementuk.org/child-doesnt-remember-someone-who-died

27/08/2025

Words Worth Holding Onto is a gentle collection of quotes, reminders and affirmations for children and young people navigating big feelings. Sometimes, the right words at the right time can make all the difference.

OUR TOPIC - Back to School Anxiety
NEW TO THE RESOURCE STORE - only £3.25 until 15 September 2025
Back-to-School Anxiety Toolkit for Parents & Educators
Instant download available at https://thecontentedchild.co.uk/product/back-to-school-anxiety-the-toolkit-for-parents-and-educators/

19/08/2025

One million neural connections every second happens in a baby’s brain during the first three years.

This is the main event. The way we show up with emotionally nourishing, supportive relationships shapes lifelong health and well-being.

Let’s treat it like it matters. Because it does.

15/08/2025

"As we celebrate exam results, let’s also pay attention to the subjects that are quietly vanishing from our schools, because when we lose music, we lose more than we realise," writes Gareth Malone

Read more: https://trib.al/nE5RMeo

14/08/2025

28/07/2025

22/07/2025

Great news that grief education will now be included in the new statutory guidance on Relationships, Health and S*x Education in schools. This is a positive step which has been championed over several years by many in the sector, including the Childhood Bereavement Network, Child Bereavement UK, Winston’s Wish, and our Funeral Industry Advisor John Adams.

Grief education will help ensure that children will learn about change and loss, including bereavement, and how it can provoke a range of feelings. We hope this will help schools to support children and young people to talk openly about grief and bereavement, helping them to better cope with their own bereavements and support others with compassion.

Visit our website to view our resources and training for education professionals: childbereavementuk.org/education

22/07/2025

Parents should avoid preteens' use of smartphones and social media, according to a new study finding that using smartphones before age 13 could damage kids' mental health. https://cnn.it/4kRu3GD

11/07/2025

Parents are eager to provide their kids with the technology-free summers they grew up with. Caitlin Hornik spoke to several parents trying to invoke the golden days of a ‘90s summer.

11/07/2025