A guide to the primary years
For parents & carers
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A resource for parents and carers of primary school age children. Covering children’s mental health, building resilience, managing friendships, healthy habits, understanding SEND, managing common childhood illnesses, screen time and more.
Little steps to big leaps
Little kids, big feelings
It's a walk in the park
Different brains; interesting wiring
Mealtimes without meltdowns
Just a sharp scratch
Back to school, back to bugs
Logged in, tuned out
Better sleep, brighter days
Your health matters too
AXA Health
A GUIDE TO THE PRIMARY YEARS | CONTENTS
A GUIDE TO THE PRIMARY YEARS | WHY WE'VE MADE THIS GUIDE
A simple, reliable place to find the information and support you may need.
The primary school years are a whirlwind of change. One moment you’re navigating first day of school nerves and hoping they’ll get to the loo on time, the next you’re dealing with the fallout from broken friendships and anticipating the perils of puberty. It’s not surprising that it can all feel like a lot to get your head around.
And the ever-increasing tsunami of parenting information out there can be overwhelming. It’s hard to know what you can rely on and what’s up to date.
At AXA Health, we want to help parents and carers by providing clear, easy-to-navigate information that’s created in collaboration with our qualified health professionals and trusted sources.
That’s why we made this guide: a simple, reliable place to find the information and support you may need.
Head of mental health & Consultant clinical psychologist
Registered general nurse, 24/7 health support line
A GUIDE TO THE PRIMARY YEARS | HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE
There’s no single formula for raising a healthy, happy child. Every family and every child is different, so this guide isn’t a rulebook. It’s more of a toolkit full of information and signposts to resources to help you make your own choices.
You don’t need to read from start to finish. Dip into whatever is relevant right now and come back to it whenever something new comes up. In every section, you’ll find information about where you can get support or find out more, along with references to where we got our information.
A GUIDE TO THE PRIMARY YEARS | BEFORE YOU DIVE IN
As parents and carers, we all want the best for our child and aim to offer them all we can within our means. However, striving for perfection is not realistic and not helpful, as it's unattainable. Remember, we all do the best we can in the situation we are in.
It’s hard not to compare your child to others – whether that’s a classmate who appears to be reading at university level or a sibling who ate their 5 a day and asked for more. But all children develop at their own pace, and the range of what’s ‘normal’ is wide.
However, if something is worrying you, speak to your GP or child’s teacher in the first instance.
After working with many families for many years, and having kids of my own, the best thing you can do for your children is to spend time with them, and be as available as possible, as those early years go so fast.
Dr Imren Sterno, AXA Health's Head of mental health and Consultant clinical psychologist
A GUIDE TO THE PRIMARY YEARS | PLEASE NOTE
This information was created by AXA Health’s team, based on reputable sources, and reviewed and checked by our healthcare professionals.
Please also note:
School curriculums and health recommendations change, so please check the latest official information for your area.
The information in this guide is not medical advice – please always check with your GP or another health professional.
This guide is for information and support only and is no indication of the cover available through our AXA Health plans.
AXA Health is not responsible for the content of other websites or information that we refer to here.
