Toddlers (1-3 years)

Keep your child safe in the car. Make sure your baby is in a rear-facing car seat until they are at least 2 years old. Keep your child in a booster seat until they are 148cm tall - for most tamariki (children), that's somewhere between 10 and 12 years of age.

Vitamin D helps your baby use calcium to build and maintain strong bones.

Tamariki (children) at 3 to 5 years of age are busy, are interested in new things and enjoy being active. Learn more about keeping your child safe and healthy.

Tamariki (children) at 2 to 3 years of age are learning about themselves and what they want and don't want. Find out more about keeping your child's teeth healthy, managing tantrums and keeping your home environment safe. 

Between 1 and 2 years your child may become more independent and their behaviour may change. Find out about safety in the home and how you can help your child learn and develop.

Watch a video to see 3 different whānau share their stories about the rewards and challenges of being parents. We hear how the Well Child Tamariki Ora nurses give them support and advice about caring for your child from 1 to 5 years of age.

Find out about looking after yourself after baby is born and how your whānau (family) and partner can support you.

Communication skills are strongly linked to the development of reading and writing. The better a child's conversational skills now, the easier it will be for them to understand what they read later on.

Find out about how children's communication skills usually develop by the age of 3. Check some activity suggestions to encourage communication from 3 years. Use the language that you are most familiar and comfortable with.

Find out how children's communication skills usually develop by the age of 2. Check some activity suggestions to encourage communication from 2 years. Use the language that you are most familiar and comfortable with.

Find out about how children's communication skills usually develop by the age of 18 months. Check some activity suggestions to encourage communication from 18 months. Use the language that you are most familiar and comfortable with.

Here is some information about how children's communication skills usually develop by the age of 1. Below are some activity suggestions to encourage communication from 1 year. Use the language that you are most familiar and comfortable with.

Hearing is a critical part of a child's communication development so it's important to identify any loss as early as possible.

Night terrors are scary to watch but usually harmless to tamariki (children). The most important thing to do when your child has a night terror is to keep your child safe.

If your child is anxious about going to sleep, the ‘camping out’ method may help. Sit on a chair or camp bed next to your child’s bed and gradually move further away as your child learns to fall asleep on their own.

Vitamin D helps our bodies use calcium to build and maintain strong bones and teeth.