Supporting the developing of language and communication skills of children aged 0-4
A BBC initiative aims to support parents and carers in developing the language and communication skills of 0-4 year old children. The Tiny Happy People website features a range of free online tools including fun activities, videos, articles and quizzes launched to support the development of under-fives language and communications skills. The initiative is backed by Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge and other celebrities are also on board.
At the heart of the initiative is a simple message – talk to children from as early an age as possible.
Tiny Happy People offers a wide range of free films, articles, quizzes and parenting tips that have been specially designed with experts to help to nurture children’s language right from pregnancy. Also supporting the initiative are a number of celebrities who are using the activities to build their own infants’ communication skills. The celebrity parents involved are soap stars Jennie McAlpine, Kieron Richardson, singer and farmer JB Gill, former Love Islanders Jess and Dom Lever, BBC Three presenter Annie Price and Louise Pentland who was voted the UK’s favourite mum influencer last year.
The free digital resources being offered by Tiny Happy People are easy to use and incorporate into everyday routines. The short films, articles and quizzes cover, in a bitesize way, the science behind baby brain development. There are lots of fun activities to do with both babies and toddlers to support language development and parent well-being along with great tips for new and soon-to-be parents. Working with a coalition of partners, BBC Education through Tiny Happy People has the ambition to make a significant contribution to halving the number of children in the UK who do not reach the required developmental outcomes in literacy by the end of their reception year. Those partners include academics, healthcare professional bodies, The Royal Foundation, Public Health England, The National Literacy Trust, The Education Endowment Foundation, The National Lottery Community Fund and KPMG.