Weekly roundup 28: Hello from the other side

Very exciting week at GRASP - we're celebrating our half-birthday with a little giveaway competition - anyone who subscribes to this email by the end of the week enters a draw to win a Heads Up tummy time play mat. Good news is, if you're a new subscriber, you're already in with a chance to win. If you're an OG sudder, please forward this email to a friend who you think would like it and tell them to subscribe - if they win the competition it's basically like you got the baby in their life a present. Win. Competition closes tomorrow!

- Shreya

What do experts say about tummy time

An interesting thing many of you, our lovely readers, have said in response to the Heads Up mat is that you were surprised to know how important tummy time is for babies - and quite a few of you hadn't really heard about it at all. Thank you for this feedback! We've looked at tummy time from a range of angles now, and it's great to know that getting this info out there has been helpful. But we're not paediatric professionals, so we thought it's only right to give you a medically-sound take on it too. Here's a good summary on the science of tummy time.

I make a fuss about my kids saying hello to people

It's true, I do. You've probably been on the receiving end of it, thinking 'not again!'. But I bet it would make you feel better to know the reasons why:

"Kids live socially, very sheltered lives. From a young age, parents are encouraged to stretch children’s physical and mental capacities - take them outdoors, give them engaging toys, read to them, encourage sensory play and role play… the list goes on. But there isn’t necessarily the encouragement to push their social boundaries in the same way; to go out of our way to get them to mix with new people of diverse ages, classes, cultures... So, simply put, I use saying hello to people as a microcosm for all these things in my kids’ lives: to practise being kind, or inclusive, or friendly… even when you don’t feel like it (because it’s the bit that is outside of their comfort zone that stretches it). "

Read more here.

Music to your ears: the case for bathing your kids less

Last year when a celebrity couple said they're not that fussed about how often their kids are bathed, there was a lot of pearl-clutching online - but to be honest, me and Brook were a little relieved. One less thing to feel guilty about not doing as often as we were 'supposed to'. Turns out there was a lot of good logic to what these particular celebs were saying, laid out here in a quick and handy guide. If you try the 'bath less challenge, tell us what you think!'.

And now for something completely different: sound on 🔊 for this thread

The tweet sings for itself, several times. Happy scrolling! Oh, and while we're on the subject of Tiktok, why not give us a follow over there. Yes, we're that cool, we're on Tiktok.