Tired of worrying about the future? Turn to Nursery World's 85th Anniversary Special published with this week's magazine and enjoy a fascinating trip back through the history of childcare and early years education.
There's plenty of amusement to be found in those extracts from issues gone by, but also much that is thought-provoking. Debates about learning through play, the inadvisability of formal learning too soon, the role of men in childcare, and the need for greater status and pay for the early years workforce have been around as long as Nursery World has. It is also possible to see just how much progress has been made in providing early years services and in the increasing professionalisation of practitioners.
So amid our birthday celebrations, it is also a good time to take stock and highlight how important it is not to lose ground in giving young children what they need to achieve and fulfil their potential.
Back in the present, Nursery World has plenty to inspire you in this vital task, as it does every week. We see how one school's approach to Scotland's new Curriculum for Excellence has led to inspiring, engaging and relevant lessons for every class, through a hands-on farming project (see 'Down on the farm', pages 18-20).
Messy play with mud (Nursery World readers of old would surely approve!) is the latest subject of Anne O'Connor's Practice in Pictures series, as she shows how such activities are great for brain-building (see pages 14-15).
And babies' teething has proved trying for parents in every era. Penny Tassoni provides expert advice and reassurance for you to hand out to families in our popular Parents' Guide series (see pages 16-17).
