A Guide for New & Expectant Parents
The arrival of a newborn baby often brings an outpouring of affection from friends and family. Cuddles, close contact and kisses are instinctive ways people express love. However, during the first weeks and months of life, these well-meaning gestures can sometimes pose genuine health risks.
Newborn babies have immature immune systems, making them particularly vulnerable to infections that are harmless to adults but potentially serious — and, in rare cases, life-threatening — for infants. Today’s article explains why kissing newborns can be risky, the science behind their vulnerability, and how parents can confidently encourage safer behaviour without damaging important relationships.
Why Newborns Are More Vulnerable to Infection
An Immature Immune System in the First Months of Life
At birth, a baby’s immune system is still learning how to respond effectively to bacteria and viruses. While babies receive some antibodies from their mother during pregnancy, these offer only partial and temporary protection.
In the first few months of life, infants produce fewer infection-fighting antibodies and have limited immune “memory”. This means that viruses and bacteria that cause mild symptoms in adults can potentially lead to serious illness in newborns, including blood infections (sepsis), meningitis, encephalitis (brain inflammation), and breathing difficulties. Infections can spread rapidly. The NHS therefore advises that young babies are at higher risk of complications from infections — even more so if they were born prematurely — and should be protected from unnecessary exposure wherever possible.
The Developing Blood-Brain Barrier in Infants
One lesser-known but important factor is the blood-brain barrier. This barrier acts as a protective filter between the bloodstream and the brain, helping prevent harmful substances and microbes from reaching the central nervous system.
In newborn babies, the blood-brain barrier is not yet fully mature, particularly during the first few months of life. As a result, certain viruses and bacteria are more able to cross into the brain. Infections can escalate more quickly, and therefore potentially devastating neurological complications are more likely than in older children. This is one reason why infections in newborns are taken so seriously by healthcare professionals and often require urgent investigation.
How Infections Can Be Passed to Babies Through Kissing
Why Saliva and Close Contact Increase Risk
Kissing — especially on the face, lips or head — brings an adult’s saliva and skin into close contact with a baby’s mouth, nose and eyes. This can transmit microbes even when the person feels completely well.
Commonly transmitted infections include cold and flu viruses, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), and bacterial infections carried by adults. In many cases, adults have no idea they are even carrying these microbes.
“54% of new and expectant parents would let friends and family kiss their newborn baby, unaware of the risk of serious infection.” — The Lullaby Trust
Neonatal Herpes and Kissing Newborns
What Is Neonatal Herpes?
One of the most serious infections associated with kissing newborns is neonatal herpes, caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV).
HSV-1 vs. HSV-2: What Parents Should Know
HSV-1 is commonly associated with cold sores around the mouth, while HSV-2 is more often linked to genital herpes. Both types can cause neonatal herpes if transmitted to a baby through direct contact with infected saliva or skin, especially when cold sore blisters are evident. Importantly, though, in some circumstances, transmission can occur even when no visible cold sore is evident.
In newborns, HSV can spread rapidly and may affect the skin, eyes, mouth, organs or central nervous system. Early symptoms can be subtle, which is why prevention is so important. Avoiding kisses is therefore a simple and sensible temporary precaution.
“Despite the risk, 63% of new and expectant parents would feel uneasy asking visitors not to touch their baby, worried that they’d offend someone, hurt their feelings, or be labelled an overprotective parent.”
— The Lullaby Trust (∞)
How Parents Can Reduce the Risk of Infection
The T.H.A.N.K.S. Approach (Think Hands And No KisseS)
The Lullaby Trust promotes a simple, memorable message to help reduce infection risk in newborns:
This encourages people to think carefully about infection risks, wash their hands before touching the baby, and avoid kisses, especially in the early weeks.
Hand Hygiene and Visitor Safety
Hand washing also remains one of the most effective ways to reduce infection transmission. Anyone handling a newborn should wash their hands thoroughly with soap and water, especially after travelling, coughing, or touching shared surfaces.
Why Unwell Visitors Should Stay Away
Visitors who are unwell — even mildly — should avoid close contact with newborns. This includes cold sores, coughs, stomach bugs or flu-like symptoms. Parents should explain and be confident about delaying visits until everyone is healthy.
How to Ask Friends & Family Not to Kiss Your Baby
Asking friends or relatives not to kiss your baby can feel uncomfortable, particularly with older generations. However, most people respond positively when the reason is explained calmly and clearly.
Simple phrases like “We’re being extra careful in these early weeks while the baby’s immune system is still developing” or “We’re following medical advice to avoid kisses for now, because newborns are at heightened risk” can help set boundaries without causing offence.
It’s worth remembering that protecting your baby’s health is not over-protective — it is responsible parenting. There is therefore no need to feel bad about it.
Protecting Babies in Their Earliest Weeks
So, to sum up, kissing a newborn may be a natural expression of love, but during the earliest months of life, it can carry risks that many people are unaware of. Because babies have immature immune systems and incomplete protective barriers, preventing unnecessary exposure to infections is a sensible precaution.
With clear communication, good hygiene, and approaches like T.H.A.N.K.S., parents can protect their baby’s health while still allowing friends and family to bond safely. Such an approach will give their child the healthiest possible start — and could even save their life.
Little Acorns Nursery, Hindley Green, Wigan
Little Acorns is a nursery in Hindley Green, near Wigan, and may also suit those living nearby, for example, in Bolton, Ince-in-Makerfield, Platt Bridge, Westhoughton, Atherton, Leigh, Bickershaw, and Tyldesley. We offer high-quality weekday childcare for babies and children under five and support free childcare hours for eligible families. Follow the bold links for more information, or begin your application for a childcare place or free nursery tour using the buttons below. We look forward to meeting you!
When to Seek Medical Advice for a Newborn
If a newborn shows signs such as poor feeding, lethargy, fever, unusual crying, breathing difficulties or a rash, parents should seek medical advice promptly via their GP, NHS 111, or emergency services if there are serious concerns. And parents: trust your gut feelings — you know your child best!
Even the youngest children have an incredible gift for imagination. Give them a handful of crayons and a sheet of paper, and, in no time at all, they’ll have created charming drawings that will delight. You’ll be introduced to colourful monsters, kindly robots, prancing unicorns, and pets reimagined. They may also depict family members, perhaps holding hands outside a home surrounded by flowers and love hearts. Each drawing tells a story and gives insights into how they see the world. Now, thanks to Artificial Intelligence (AI), families can bring those stories to life in a simple yet magical way. What’s more, it’s incredibly good fun and the results can be astounding!
This activity works best as a family project. Begin by letting your child create a drawing — anything they like, from a friendly monster to a robot, a pet dragon, or a family picnic on the moon. Encourage them to use lots of colour and detail, then take a clear photo of the finished drawing — a smartphone’s camera is usually perfect for the task.
Some children know exactly what they want to draw, while others may need a starting point. You might suggest a dancing robot covered in buttons, a dragon who lives under the nursery slide, or a family of aliens enjoying tea on the moon. 
Once you’ve created your child’s AI-enhanced image, there are plenty of ways to keep the creativity flowing. You might print both versions and frame them together, start a digital scrapbook of your child’s art, or create a picture book where each page features one of their AI-inspired characters. 
Once summer has gone, observant children will begin to notice a change in the behaviour of wild birds. Many of our feathered friends will begin migrating to warmer locations, evidenced by often noisy flocks heading south overhead. Those that stay in the UK, like robins and blackbirds, will soon find that all the wild berries, seeds, and grubs have been eaten — food becomes scarce as remaining supplies disappear in the run-up to winter. In view of this, wild birds will become more reliant on good-natured humans to ensure they still have enough food to eat over the colder months.
This simple type of bird feeder is quick and easy to make. Simply thread string or gardening twine through the outer husks of unroasted monkey nuts to form a garland. Holes can be made in the monkey nut husks using a small matchstick. Alternatively, if using something sharp like a darning needle, an adult should make the holes so that little ones don’t hurt themselves. Once a whole chain of monkey nuts is in line along the string, the ends can be tied between twigs, branches, or bushes, so the nuts dangle in a stretched arc. Blue tits will love pecking at the husks to get to the nuts inside!
Apple bird feeders are by far the most simple to accomplish. In essence, they are simply an apple either dangling from a tree, bush, or fence, or are held high in the air from underneath by a vertical bamboo cane pushed into the ground. Whether the apple is dangled by string or held aloft by a cane, it’s best to expose some of the apple by removing some of the outer skin, so birds have a weak spot to begin feeding on. Check the apple daily to ensure it does not go mouldy; discard if so – mould can be dangerous to birds. (Adults should also supervise* children to keep them safe around hazards and other possible dangers, of course).
These bird feeders are extra fun because little ones can decorate them! You’ll first need an empty juice or milk carton. With help from an adult, rectangular or arc-shaped flaps should be cut on 3 or 4 sides of the carton, ensuring the bottom of the rectangle or arc is not cut. Crease and fold the flaps out at that lowest point, as shown in our example. The flaps provide a landing platform for birds, as well as access to the inside. That’s where the birdseed will go when the feeder is complete. After painting the exterior with a nice design and leaving it to dry, the carton bird feeder can be suspended by a string. This can be attached at the top, for example, by trapping it with the carton’s lid. Fill with birdseed to the level of the open flaps once suspended in place.
Pine cone bird feeders are great fun for children! You first need to forage outdoors for a large pine cone. Ideally, it needs to have its many splines open, although that’s not critical. Children should smear peanut† butter all over the pine cone, ensuring it gets pushed into the cone’s many crevices. The whole thing should then be rolled around in a bowl of bird seeds, which will then stick to the sticky covering that was just applied. The completed pine cone bird feeder can then be suspended by string outdoors, somewhere suitable for the birds (usually at least 1.5m off the ground but under the protection of a tree canopy or similar so that feeding birds avoid attack from predators like sparrowhawks).
Seed cake bird feeders are a firm favourite for children to make. They’ll need some small, empty pots — plastic flowerpots would be perfect. With adult help, attach a string or garden twine to the base of the pot(s), for example, by threading it through the flowerpot drainage holes, and secure with a knot. Ensure that most of the string is left on the outside of the pot. Next children will need to mix bird seed in a suitable bowl with something to bind it together. For this part, adults will need to help by melting some lard† or beef suet† on the stove for children. They will then need to supervise to ensure it’s cool enough before children have access to it. Once mixed with bird seeds into a thick, gloopy mixture, children should fill the pots. A wooden spoon is perfect for the purpose. Once the mixture has cooled and set, the filled pots can then be turned upside down and dangled somewhere suitable for birds outdoors, for example, suspended high above the ground from a tree branch or on the side of a bush.
There are lots of different seed mixes available and each will attract a different range of birds. Our personal favourites are sunflower hearts, which are available in most supermarkets, garden centres, and online, and robin peanut cakes, which are similarly available. We’ve found them both to be popular food sources, attracting birds like robins, blue tits, great tits, blackbirds, doves, pigeons, nuthatches, starlings, and more. A small amount of grated cheddar cheese is also very popular, especially amongst robins and blackbirds, but must not be allowed to go mouldy (mouldy cheeses are dangerous for birds). We suggest avoiding mealworms, as each represents a little life lost unnecessarily. In any case, we love 
Following May’s 
Children will need some leaves for these ‘leaf art’ activities. We suggest they collect a wide selection of shapes, sizes, and varieties, so they have the flexibility to undertake any of the leaf art activities below. Our 
Whether fresh, dried, or pressed (see below), leaf collages can be used to make wonderful pictures and designs. With a little imagination, leaves can suddenly resemble little trees and landscapes, or be combined into formations that depict a flower head or a graphical design. The accompanying images show a couple of examples to get children’s creative juices flowing.
One of the most straightforward creative activities with leaves is simply to paint and decorate them with coloured paints. Doing so can create highly attractive groups of leaves that are fun and cheerful to look at. Experiment with flat colours or more intricate decorations such as polka dots, stripes, stars, or zigzags. Glue the finished leaves to paper or card once dry to use them as part of a leaf collage (see above).
Leaves and small flowers can be dried, flattened, and kept longer by pressing them. Once pressed and dried, they’re like little works of art in themselves and are quite delightful. They can be kept as bookmarks or keepsakes, or used as art and collage components for some of the other leaf activities outlined today.
Leaf rubbing is a simple yet effective art activity involving leaves. First, simply place a leaf under a sheet of fairly thin paper. Holding the paper still with one hand, children should use their writing hand to rub a crayon, pastel, charcoal stick, or soft pencil lead over the area where the leaf sits, scribbling from left to right in closely aligned lines. A ‘picture’ of the underlying leaf will gradually appear!
Leaf printing is super-easy and fun for little ones. Find a suitable leaf and, using a broad brush or — better still — paint roller, paint the most textured side of a leaf with a thin layer of paint, ensuring it covers the whole side of the leaf. Then, while the paint is still wet, place the painted side carefully over a sheet of blank paper. Without moving its position, press all parts of the leaf down so the paint makes contact with the underlying paper. Another way to accomplish this is to use a clean roller to ‘roll’ over the leaf so it connects the paint with the paper. Carefully remove the leaf and — hey presto — you should have an image of the leaf structure and texture right there on the paper. Try different leaves, various colours, and overlapping experiments to accomplish different outcomes.
Instead of painting or using leaves directly, children can also try to depict them with their own paintings and drawings. These are a good way to encourage children to focus on getting the shape and details correct, fine-tune hand-eye coordination, and bolster technical mark-making skills. And, because children are free to paint or draw however they like, they can let their imaginations run riot and perhaps invent their own leaf shapes, leaf patterns, and natural worlds on paper.
Children can use some of the creative skills they’ve learnt in the activities above to make greeting cards that feature their leaf art. For example, they can forage for heart-shaped leaves and paint them cerise pink to use as part of a simple Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day greeting card. More general greeting cards for other special occasions can also be accomplished using leaves and dried flowers — for example, arranged to depict a leaf or dried ‘bouquet’ on a card sent for a birthday.
Calling all children and their families — people of all ages are needed this July and August for the world’s biggest wildlife survey — the Big Butterfly Count! So, whether you’re a child or an adult, you can play your part. This is a great activity for under-fives too as it’ll be fun, educational, and incredibly worthwhile. What’s more, they’ll become little citizen scientists by taking part. The nature-based activity takes as little as just 15 minutes and costs nothing at all. Children don’t need any special abilities other than a little patience and good observation — both great skills for them to practise. Let’s take a look and see what the Big Butterfly Count is all about and how children can take part this year.
The Big Butterfly Count is a nature survey that anyone can take part in during July and August each year. For 2025, it takes place from Friday the 18th of July to Sunday the 10th of August, a period in which temperatures are usually warm and butterfly populations are likely to peak. In essence, all that is required is for butterflies to be counted during a 15-minute period (more detail follows later in this guide). The survey event is open to everyone and, indeed, the more people who take part, the better. So, if you, your child, your family, or your friends want to play a part in protecting butterflies and nature as a whole, please get involved.
The populations of butterflies can be used as a barometer for the health of pollinator numbers and nature as a whole. With some butterfly species already disappearing from our gardens and countryside and others nearing extinction, there is no time to lose. Only by identifying the issues can we, as a nation, begin to reverse some of the decline. By reversing it, it will be good for butterflies, good for other pollinators like bees, good for nature as a whole — and good for humans too! After all, without pollinators, the supply of foods like cereals, fruit, vegetables and legumes would start to run out. So, taking part in the Big Butterfly Count is extremely worthwhile and we urge little ones and their families to take part.
First, ensure you have downloaded and printed out 
Choose a spot for your butterfly survey. It should be somewhere outside where butterflies are most likely to be seen. Sunny, sheltered spots are good, particularly where a variety of different sizes and types of flowers or blossoms are in bloom.
Sometime in the period from Friday the 18th of July to Sunday the 10th of August, you/your child should spend 15 minutes making a note of how many of each type of butterfly you can see. Concentrate only on the species included in the event organiser’s reference from Step 1. You must count how many of each single species you see at the same time. So, if you see three Painted Ladies at the same time, then record that as 3. However, if you see one Painted Lady on three separate occasions during the 15 minutes, that would only count as 1 — otherwise, it could simply be the same butterfly revisiting.
Did You Know?
Nature and outdoor play feature significantly in children’s time at 
Wherever you look, nature’s flowers and trees are bursting with life during spring and summer. This got us thinking about the many nature-based activities that are possible for children and under-5s to enjoy at this time of year — under appropriate supervision, of course. One of them is a simple leaf-hunting activity that’ll get little ones exploring the outdoors, enjoying the fresh air, having some fun, and learning about the natural world. With this in mind, we’ve put together a Leaf Scavenger Hunt reference poster for children and families. It can serve as inspiration for some common leaves to look out for during the warmer months of the year. The poster is free to download, right here today, and highlights 16 different types of leaves. Included are oak, sycamore, beech, lime and many more. Children will probably be familiar with some — especially oak leaves with their wonderful little acorns — while others may be unfamiliar. However, all of our examples were sourced on a single morning’s outing, so it’s feasible to find all 16 kinds with a bit of eagle-eyed persistence! So, download the poster for your children, print it out, and explore the outdoors to see how many of the 16 leaf types your little one can find. See if they can identify the differences which make each species of leaf/tree/plant unique — and learn their names if they can. The free identification poster and some help from an adult should help. Have fun out there!
Some of the leaves will be easier to identify than others. For example, Horse Chestnut (a.k.a. ‘conker tree’) leaves are quite distinctive with their fan of multiple sections (see the 2nd row, last image on the right on the poster for our example). In contrast, hazel and lime leaves are quite similar to one another. One easy clue to tell them apart is that lime leaves are slightly shiny, whereas hazel leaves are extremely matt. And, of course, they have very different seeds once those appear (the lime seed clusters are quite beautiful as you can see on the poster in the 3rd row, 2nd image from the right).
Another interesting factor to point out to children is that some of the leaves come in different colours. Beech leaves, for instance, can be green or deep burgundy, brown or dark purple depending on which variety of beech a child locates. It’s similar for acers, which can be green, yellow, red or a deep purple/maroon. Acers however, are more likely to be found in gardens and parks than in the countryside. Some are a little like miniature sycamores, only rather more delicate and fancy! And, come 
This activity is a great opportunity for children to open their eyes to the natural world. By looking at nature more deeply, they’ll see the finer details that may have been overlooked. Nature is incredibly varied and interesting when you take the time to look closely and discover it properly. It’ll teach children about the natural world, the seasons, the changes in plants and trees at different times of the year, the circle of life, and so much more. Getting out, close to nature, is also incredibly beneficial to children. From busting stress, improving well-being, supporting the EYFS and boosting exercise, to improving concentration and even academic grades, 
With World Bee Day arriving on the 20th of May and National Children’s Gardening Week arriving on the 24th, it’s an excellent time for a flower-growing activity for children — including under-fives. More specifically, the growing of bee-friendly flowers — from seeds — will be an excellent way to celebrate World Bee Day and support these adorable little creatures. Bees, butterflies, and other pollinators are incredibly important for the world, being largely responsible for pollinating the crops, including nuts, seeds, fruits and vegetables, that we rely on for food. Yet they are under threat with numbers dwindling severely in recent years. Without bees and other pollinators, the world’s animals, plants, trees, and flowers would be in real danger. Today’s bee-friendly flower-growing activity is therefore an incredibly worthwhile one for children to get involved in. It’s fun, highly educational for little ones, and will help to make the world a better place! Little ones, let’s get growing!
Unless seeds are available from friends and family or harvests from previous years, parents of under-fives will need to source them. However, that’s easy and can be incredibly inexpensive. Most supermarkets sell seed packets and, if not, there is a whole range of online stores to choose from (
If children are going with our recommended second option, they will first need to read packets to ensure their timing is right. For seed trays, they can use inexpensive, commercially available seed trays or use smaller options like flower pots. Another free alternative is to use repurposed margarine tubs, yoghurt pots, or similar. Whichever option they choose will need drainage holes added underneath by supervising parents plus a drip tray of some kind. Whether that’s a commercial one or something as simple as a saucer is up to families.
Once the soil is layered into the seed trays or pots, to a level an inch or so below the top, children can indent the soil/compost for the seeds to go into. Seeds can be manually spaced out into these indents so that, once they grow, the individual plants will be easily separated. We suggest scattering a shallow layer of sieved soil or compost over the seeds once placed into the indents and given a sprinkling of water.
Children should continue to water the seedlings regularly, when needed, and may also have to thin out any ‘clumps’ or plants that are too close together, otherwise, several plants may get tangled and have to compete with one another unnecessarily.
Once flowers appear, children can expect pollinators like honey bees, bumblebees, butterflies, and hoverflies to appear. It’s going to be magical for children when that day first arrives! Bees and the other pollinators truly are delightful and adorable. Children should look but not touch*, after all, bees have important work to do!
This activity will raise awareness of bees and pollinators in children of all ages. It’s not only a wonderful way to introduce children to these adorable creatures, but also a great opportunity to raise awareness of the plight bees and pollinators are facing. They are under severe pressure from habitat loss, global warming, the use of harmful pesticides/weedkillers, pollution, invasive predators, and many other threats that have made their populations plummet in recent years.
