Parents in the North West have revealed the top 30 things children should do before they start school.
Come September, a new intake of four and five year olds will begin their primary school journey across Merseyside. But even at that age, there are certain rites of passage little ones should tick off their list, according to the research, commissioned by childcare provider Busy Bees.
Jumping in puddles, feeding ducks and meeting friendly farm animals are all on the list, along with going on a bouncy castle and taking a trip to a toy shop. If only life remained that simple and joyous!
READ MORE: Seven childhood personality traits and how to nurture them
According to the survey, 64% of parents in the north west believe it is important to regularly introduce new things to their children to help with their development. For 75% of parents, experiencing new things is important for building their little one’s confidence and 58% said learning new things allows children to explore different emotions.
Deena Billings, Head of Experience at Busy Bees, said: “Life is full of wonderful things and every child should experience as much as they possibly can during their early years to help them develop their confidence and understanding of the world - sadly, many have missed out on important milestone moments due to the pandemic.
“These findings confirm what we have seen in our nurseries and heard from parents in the north west as they hope to introduce their children to more experiences now that life is returning to normality. That’s why we’re building in extra activities at our centres to provide our children with the additional developmental support they need.”
To extend these experiences further than childcare surroundings, Busy Bees has created a playful quiz to see which activities their child has already ticked off the list. Take it here.
In a separate survey conducted by the nursery, polling 2,000 Busy Bees parents UK-wide, including more than 150 parents in the north west, it emerged more than a third (33%) are concerned the pandemic has made it harder for their child to feel ready for school. In fact, 45 per cent in the north west plan on making up for this over the summer and have already started ticking things off their list, according to the OnePoll study, with 85% of parents planning new and exciting experiences for their child. However, a third (33%) still struggle to come up with new things to do with their little one.
Deena Billings added: “There are lots of things families have missed out on over the last two years because of the pandemic, but it’s great to see that parents are keen to make up for lost time. That’s why we’ve worked with parents to develop a list of 30 things all children should try before they start school.
"We hope this provides some inspiration for family-friendly activities to take away over the coming summer months.”
Top 30 things every child should do before starting school
1. Swim in a pool
2. Jump in a puddle
3. Make a friend
4. Feed the ducks
5. Have a birthday party
6. Meet some friendly farm animals
7. Go to a toy shop
8. Go on a bouncy castle
9. Paddle in the sea
10. Dance with their parents
11. Bake a cake
12. Build a snowman
13. Play with playdough or slime
14. Watch at least one Disney movie
15. Have chips at the seaside
16. Finger painting
17. Jump into a big pile of crunchy autumn leaves
18. Ride on a bus
19. Dig a huge hole or build a sandcastle at the beach
20. Wear fancy dress
21. Have a teddy bears’ picnic
22. Make a sofa fort
23. Plant a seed and see it grow
24. Go to a funfair
25. Use a bed like a trampoline
26. Go on a treasure hunt
27. Eat a 99 flake
28. Go to the cinema
29. Go on a bug hunt
30. Scrape their knees
Get the top stories straight to your inbox by signing up for one of our free newsletters
