This blog has been written by the team over at Happity - the UK’s biggest platform for baby and toddler classes. Founded by two mums who experienced isolation after giving birth, we’re on a mission to end loneliness in new parents. Browse thousands of classes and book at happity.co.uk.
Baby classes are brilliant! Not only do you get beautiful bonding moments with your little one, but they also put you in the perfect setting to start making friends with parents/carers who know exactly what you’re going through. They also have a ton of developmental benefits for your baby, helping to get them prepared for nursery and school.
We’ve highlighted some of the main benefits of baby and toddler classes, along with the types of classes that we think will appeal to you. Read on to find a class that you and your baby will love.
Fine motor skills & sensory development
Developing fine motor skills from an early age will benefit your child when they come to learn more complex skills at nursery and school, like holding a pencil and beginning to write.
It's incredibly beneficial to attend a class that's getting them to use their hands more. One example of this is sensory play, where your baby gets to explore sensations and feelings around them. Another example is baby art classes, where they can explore paints, crayons and other art materials – and who knows, they might paint the next Mona Lisa!
Type of baby/toddler class to choose:
Sensory Play | Messy Play | Arts & Crafts
Examples:
Baby Sensory | Splat Messy Play | Creation Station | Messy Hands | Waymaker Kids | Nature Makers
An initial introduction to numeracy, language and speech
Lots of play activities at classes introduce your child to counting, numbers, and new words every day. They might hear lots of counting in songs and rhymes, count out toys as they play, or listen attentively to a well-told story. They might also start to recognise communication through hand movements and facial expressions.
Lots of classes introduce the concept of numeracy and language to your little one, so you can't really go wrong. If you're not sure, aim for classes for babies or toddlers on the younger side.
Type of baby/toddler class to choose:
Music and Movement | Baby Signing | Stories & Reading | Drama
Examples:
Moo Music | Hartbeeps | Kidslingo | Sing and Sign | Adventure Babies
Language development & recognition
For those parents and carers who would like to focus specifically on helping your little one develop their language skills and learn to recognise words or phrases.
It's especially important to keep in mind if you are from a bilingual household (or you would like your little one to learn an additional language) then the younger you start, the better! There are lots of classes out there to help your tots learn additional languages.
Type of baby/toddler class to choose:
Languages (including French, Spanish, Italian, Mandarin and more!) | Stay and Play | Phonics
Examples:
Mini Bilinguals | Sing and Sign | La Ola Spanish | KidsLingo | Phonics Stars | Reading Fairy | Talking Tots | Bilinguasing
Social skills
When your child moves into older settings (school, nursery, playgroup etc.) they'll need to understand how to behave in a group. That includes sitting quietly, listening, turn-taking, speaking in turn, and more.
By taking your little ones to baby and toddler groups before these bigger steps, they'll be introduced to these concepts beforehand. Greetings, turn-taking, sitting in an allocated spot, and saying please/thank you will start to happen all around your child. This encourages them to copy and do the same.
Type of baby/toddler class to choose:
Stay and Play | Softplay | Playgroup | All Baby Classes
Examples:
Local Church or Library Stay & Plays | Chatterbox | Babble N Zen | Dads Rock | The Mill
Somewhere to burn off energy
According to the NHS, once your child is walking, they should be staying active for at least 180 minutes (3 hours) of the day. That explains why when you have a day at home it feels like they just won't sit still! Attending a toddler class that includes exercise and movement is a great way to help your restless little one burn off all that extra steam.
As an added bonus to exercise classes, all the moving and grooving is helping them with gross motor skills, which will continue to develop as they grow.
Type of baby/toddler class to choose:
Toddler Football & Rugby | Gymnastics | Swimming | Dance | Outdoor
Examples:
Rugby Tots | Little Kickers | AquaTots | The Little Gym | TinyBeats | Wild Things Dance
For you, but you can bring your baby
For a lot of parents and carers, baby and toddler classes are appealing as they give you something to do. They're also designed for families with babies, so the environment feels welcoming, where your baby can cry or you can feed your baby and not feel embarrassed about it. From a practical point of view, the class location is also likely to have buggy access.
Baby and toddler classes are welcoming to families of all kinds. But if you're looking for something that will make you feel good, then postnatal fitness and wellbeing classes might be a good choice for you.
Type of baby/toddler class to choose:
Pilates | Buggy Fitness | Wellbeing | Postnatal Fitness
Examples:
Sweaty Mama | Crib Notes | Singing Mammas | Carifit | Buggy Fitness
Special bonding time with your baby
When you're at home running through your daily routine, there’s a lot to distract you. While you may be with them all day, your daily duties can prevent you from spending focused and quality time with your baby.
The same can't be said when you attend a baby class. You have a set length of time to really focus on being with your child and connecting with them. It acts as a cherished and focused bonding time together that can be hard to carve out at home.
Type of baby/toddler class to choose:
Baby Massage | Baby Yoga | Baby Music | All Baby Classes
Examples:
Basking Babies | Babble & Zen | Moon Child Nurture Practice | Mama Glow | Caterpillar Music
Meet other families
Being at home with a new baby can be incredibly lonely. You’re never alone, but you also rarely have other adults there with you. Baby classes are a vital way of combating this. They provide a place for new parents/carers to meet and feel like part of a group.
It can take a while but being together with other new families at baby classes is a great way to find new friends. The experience of going through birth and embarking on the journey of new parenthood is very uniting. You may be in a room with several other new parents/carers and feel shy, but you all have something in common and conversation can flow naturally. Before long, you can find new friends that make parenthood easier.
Type of baby/toddler class to choose:
Stay & Play | Mindfulness | Bring Your Baby | All Baby Classes
Examples:
Local church stay & plays | NCT Events | Bring Your Own Baby Comedy | Bring Your Baby Walks
Want to get out and about, have fun with your baby or toddler, and meet other parents/carers?
Search Happity to find everything that’s happening for the under-5s in your local area – from music and singing classes, to messy play, arts and crafts, baby massage, gymnastics and more. Simply enter your postcode and child’s age to search, and then book your spot in a few taps. Enjoy dedicated fun time with your little one, watch their skills develop, and make friends at the same time. Mums, dads, grandparents and carers will all find something to love!
