Being a parent to a young child can be tough. Parenting in a pandemic is tougher still. In September 2021, Dr Alexandra Hendry from University of Oxford and Dr Nayeli Gonzalez-Gomez from Oxford Brookes University ran a series of online workshops to share some early results of the research into the impacts of social distancing measures on children’s development. We shared what we have found out about how important parent-child play is for children’s development, and we asked parents what they are already doing that works well, and what barriers they face.

It was clear from our workshops that lots of parents are looking for ideas and practical support for simple, engaging activities that are quick to set up, and quick to clear up. So, with help from our partners at National Literacy Trust, Peeple, Home-Start Oxford and Oxfordshire County Council, we put together 3 packs filled with ideas for toddler-friendly activities, and all the resources needed to do the activities. The ideas are deliberately simple, because parent-child play doesn’t have to be complicated to make a massive difference to child development. We are sharing the packs with families across Oxfordshire to help parents and carers do even more of what they’re great at: helping children learn through play.

The National Literacy Trust is a registered charity no. 1116260 (England and Wales) and SC042944 (Scotland). Home-Start UK is a charitable company limited by guarantee. Charity no. in England and Wales 1108837 and in Scotland SC039172. Company no. 5382181. Peeple is a registered charity no. 1144975 in England / Wales and no. SCO44031 in Scotland, and a company limited by guarantee no. 7514469.