Being a parent is a special time and watching your child grow and develop is an amazing experience. There may be times you wonder what you could be doing to support your child's development even more or need some extra support.
Parent sessions in Kent
Ready for Baby is a free session for parents-to-be with expert NHS advice from your local health visiting team.
Supporting you to:
- develop a close relationship with your baby
- feed your baby responsively, however you choose to feed them.
- know when feeding is going well.
Find out more about:
- your baby's feeding cues
- the benefits of skin-to-skin
- feeding choices
- what's in a nappy
- responding to baby
- your baby's brain development
We offer virtual and face-to-face courses or a pre-recorded narrated PowerPoint available. Details of all courses including locations and dates of our face-to-face courses are available on the Kent Baby website
Looking for breastfeeding support? Beside You is here to help every step of the way.
Responsive feeding is giving your baby a feed when they show you signs they’re hungry and stopping when they show you they’re full. This makes your baby feel safe and cared for, supporting a close and loving bond between you and helping their brain to grow.
The Born to Move app supports you and your child on the amazing journey from pregnancy, all the way to starting school.
Born to move is about encouraging play and interaction throughout your child’s early years, supporting their learning and development. Born to move
You can add your child's profile and record photos and milestones along the way to look back on, or to share with friends and family. Regular tips from your local health visitor will give you ideas to try with your child and other useful information.
Download the free Born to Move app and let us join you on this exciting adventure!
Remember your Health Visiting Team is here to support you every step of the way with any queries you may have.
Full Born to Move app terms and conditions are available.
Download the free Born to Move app and let us join you on this exciting adventure!
Listen in to the Born to Move podcast with Health Visitors Sonia and Jenny.
Kent health visitors and midwives have put together a video on how your baby's growth is monitored during their early years, why this is important and what support is available for you and your baby. Thank you to all the parents, children and colleagues at Kent Community Health Foundation Trust and East Kent University Foundation Trust for their help in creating this video.
Starting solids is a big step for you and your baby. It can feel daunting with lots of information out there. Health visiting teams are offering virtual workshops. Visit the introducing solids page for more information and to find out how to book.
Families in Kent share their experiences alongside expert NHS advice and tips from Kent Health Visiting Teams of introducing solids. If you open the video in YouTube you can select the chapter you want to watch.
You can also watch our Introducing Solids PowerPoint videos which covers the topics we discuss on the virtual workshops.
Kent Health Visiting and School Health teams offer a monthly online session to help you recognise when your toddler is ready for toilet training. The session includes practical advice and top tips to help your child become clean and dry with confidence.
Virtual toilet training sessions:
- First Wednesday of every month
- 1.30pm to 2.30pm
- Held on Microsoft Teams
- Email kentchft.toilettrainingworkshop@nhs.net to book your place.
Face-to-face toilet training sessions
The Maidstone Health Visiting Team also offers face-to-face sessions at Molehill Copse, 55 Hereford Road, Maidstone, ME15 7NB from 11am to 12pm on
- 20 August
- 3 September
- 17 September
- 1 October
- 15 October
- 29 October
Details of all courses including locations and dates of our face-to-face courses are available on the Kent Baby website. Visit our toilet training page for more information.
Understanding your child are free online courses for anyone who is pregnant or caring for a child in Kent. These courses help you develop as a parent as your family grows. They are available in 15 to 20-minute chunks, perfect for busy parents and carers.
- Understanding pregnancy, labour, birth and your baby: - for anyone who is expecting a baby including friends and family. There is a course for female same-sex couples too.
- Understanding your baby - for anyone caring for a baby from birth to six-months-old. There are courses for parents caring for a preterm or sick baby in hospital.
- Understanding your child from toddler to teenager - for anyone caring for a child from six months to 19 years plus.
- Understanding your child with additional needs.
- Moving up to secondary school for children with additional needs - parents can use the ideas and techniques to help better understand their child, their emotions and how to help them process or manage them.
- Understanding your child's feelings (a taster course)
- Understanding your child's mental health and wellbeing
- Understanding the impact of the pandemic on your teenager - helps you understand how the COVID pandemic may have affected your teenager emotionally. It may take you about 20 minutes to complete.
- Understanding your teenager's brain: for anyone caring for a teenager in Kent and one for teenagers themselves.
- Understanding your relationships: A course for adults, young people, and older adults covering communication, anger, conflict, repair and more.
To access your free course go to the Togetherness website and register for an account with the access code 'Invicta'.
You need a smartphone, tablet or computer and an internet connection to access the courses.
If these courses raise any concerns please contact your local Health Visiting Team or School Health Team for more support.
Being a parent or carer can be one of life’s greatest joys - but it can also be incredibly stressful. When stress builds, disagreements with your partner or your child’s other parent can happen more often. This is completely normal.
However, when arguments regularly escalate, they can affect your child’s emotional wellbeing. Children thrive when their caregivers are calm and supportive, even during challenging times. Our local support services are here to help. We provide practical guidance and tools to manage conflict, reduce stress, and create a healthier environment for your family.
You’re not alone, every family has its ups and downs. With the right support, you can navigate these challenges and build a stronger, happier future for your child.
Visit Strengthening Family Relationships to find out more.
You can also contact the Health Visiting Team or School Health Team for more support.
If you are on certain benefits and are pregnant or have children under the age of four, you can claim Healthy Start vouchers. Find out if this applies to you at Healthy Start. These weekly vouchers can be used to buy milk, fruit and vegetables, pulses, and infant formula milk. You can also get vitamin supplements.
You can find lots of tips to keep your child's teeth healthy at NHS.uk. Children should be supported to brush their teeth until age seven.
If your child is still using a bottle, this would be a time to stop as tooth decay is more likely drinking from a bottle. The best drinks to protect teeth are water and milk. Fruit juices and sweetened squashes can damage baby teeth due to the 'free sugars' so if drunk, dilute well with water and offer with a meal rather than between meals to protect teeth.
Difficult behaviour often comes from difficult feelings that your child is trying to communicate to you. Helping them understand themselves will over time mean they are able to deal with those difficult emotions in a better way.
It is really common around the age of eighteen months to two-years, for children to develop some ‘fussy eating’ behaviours. They may like particular foods some days and not others, suddenly stop liking something altogether or be upset when things haven’t been prepared a certain way.
Kent Health Visiting Team and the Children's Dietetics Team have made 'A parent and carer survival guide to feeding toddlers' with tips and strategies to navigate this phase and help your child develop a healthy diet lasting into adulthood.
Kent Health Visiting and School Health teams offer regular online Ready for School sessions to help parents and carers prepare their child for starting school. The sessions provide practical advice on developing key skills, building confidence and supporting a positive start to school life.
Face-to-face Ready for school sessions
The Maidstone Health Visiting Team offers face-to-face sessions at Molehill Copse, 55 Hereford Road, Maidstone, ME15 7NB from 11am to 12pm on
- 13 August
- 27 August
- 10 September
- 24 September
- 8 October
- 22 October
Visit our Ready for School webpage for more information and resources.
Details of all courses including locations and dates of our face-to-face courses are available on the Kent Baby website.
Parent sessions in Medway
A Hello Baby session is available to anyone more than 28 weeks pregnant. The session gives you the chance to find out more about:
- your feeding choices
- responsive feeding (meeting your baby’s needs)
- the value of skin-to-skin with your baby
- understanding your baby’s feeding cues
- the truths and myths around feeding
- reassuring signs that feeding is going well
- what’s in a nappy
- knowing where to go for feeding support once your little one is here.
Phone 07791 043190 or email medch.mbn@nhs.net to book.
Looking for breastfeeding support? Beside You Medway is here to help every step of the way.
Responsive feeding is giving your baby a feed when they show you signs they’re hungry and stopping when they show you they’re full. This makes your baby feel safe and cared for, supporting a close and loving bond between you and helping their brain to grow.
Starting solids is a big step for you and your baby. It can feel daunting with lots of information out there. The Medway health visiting team runs regular virtual sessions covering when to start weaning, choking and allergies, foods to offer, foods to avoid, and different feeding approaches, including baby-led weaning.
Join us to learn about introducing solids safely and confidently. We'll share the latest advice on weaning, vitamin supplements, and oral health, helping you understand your options and make informed choices for your baby. Our friendly session aims to make the process clear, simple and less overwhelming.
Phone 0300 123 3444 to book your place.
If your child is under two and a half years old, they may not be ready for toilet training. Most children show signs of readiness between the ages of two and three, and this is completely normal. However, there are simple things you can do from an early age to help prepare your child for toilet training.
If you would like support, please watch our online toilet training workshop and visit the ERIC website for advice and resources. We recommend following the guidance from the workshop for three months before phoning us for further support if needed on 0300 123 3444.
Please remember that bedwetting at night is common and considered normal until around five years of age.
Understanding your child are free online courses for anyone who is pregnant or caring for a child in Kent and Medway. These courses help you develop as a parent as your family grows. They are available in 15 to 20-minute chunks, perfect for busy parents and carers.
- Understanding pregnancy, labour, birth and your baby: - for anyone who is expecting a baby including friends and family. There is a course for female same-sex couples too.
- Understanding your baby - for anyone caring for a baby from birth to six-months-old. There are courses for parents caring for a preterm or sick baby in hospital.
- Understanding your child from toddler to teenager - for anyone caring for a child from six months to 19 years plus.
- Understanding your child with additional needs.
- Moving up to secondary school for children with additional needs - parents can use the ideas and techniques to help better understand their child, their emotions and how to help them process or manage them.
- Understanding your child's feelings (a taster course)
- Understanding your child's mental health and wellbeing
- Understanding the impact of the pandemic on your teenager - helps you understand how the COVID pandemic may have affected your teenager emotionally. It may take you about 20 minutes to complete.
- Understanding your teenager's brain: for anyone caring for a teenager in Kent and one for teenagers themselves.
- Understanding your relationships: A course for adults, young people, and older adults covering communication, anger, conflict, repair and more.
To access your free course go to the Togetherness website and register for an account with the access code 'Invicta'.
If these courses raise any concerns please contact your local Health Visiting Team or School Health Team for more support.
This session is for children from 10 months.
This session is for children aged over two-and-a-half years of age.
Following your six to eight-week review with your health visitor, you'll be invited to join a postnatal group. These friendly, 90-minute sessions are designed for first-time parents and parents who have a larger gap between children.
The groups provide an opportunity to meet other parents, share experiences and learn more about your baby's first year. Topics include:
- adjusting to life as a new parent and understanding your baby's needs
- child development and ways to support your baby's learning and development
- introducing solid foods and why it's recommended to wait until around six months
- common childhood illnesses and when to seek medical advice
- sleep, play and sensory activities, including treasure baskets.
There is plenty of time to ask questions, chat with other parents and health professionals, and take part in fun activities such as creating your baby's footprints and a group photo.
Phone 0300 123 3444 and select option four to book your place.