Toddler care, one to two years

A one-year-old has just worked out that the world is reachable. What they need is not a curriculum but space, supervision that doesn't blink, and something to climb that they're allowed to climb.

Anita's own list for the day is laughter, stories, fresh air, creativity, discovery, exercise and downtime, songs and dancing, sharing, building block towers and friendships, lots of love — and most of that list is aimed squarely at this age.

Sharing, when there are only three of you

In a room of twelve toddlers, sharing is a rule an adult enforces. With three children there is no crowd to hide in: the tower gets built together or it doesn't get built. Friendships form the same way, and they're the same three faces every day rather than a rotating cast.

Fresh air and exercise, on the list

Both appear in Anita's description of a day, which for a toddler is the part that decides whether the afternoon goes well. So does downtime — quiet is scheduled here rather than squeezed in.

Mixed-age, on purpose

Your one-year-old spends the day near a two-year-old and an infant. Watching a slightly older child do something is how toddlers learn most of what they learn, and being trusted around a baby does something for them that no amount of adult praise does.

• Breakfast, lunch and snacks provided — you don't pack them.
• The same caregiver all day, so a bad morning doesn't get handed to a stranger at noon.
• Smoke-free, pet-free home.