Aimed at key stage 1 – 3, the rewards are automatically recorded, so teachers can easily create reports, give feedback to pupils, other staff, and to parents.

But there is a worrying aspect to all of this. Negative behaviour can also be registered (‘if required’, according to the release).  Does this mean that in theory, punitive or negative information about a pupil  could also be flashed up on whiteboards, in front of peers and staff, and disseminated quickly to a wider community of parents and other adults?

In her excellent Nursery World article, ‘Behaviour – Stick with it’  Penny Tassoni outlines some of the criticisms that use of stickers in the early years has attracted. These span objections to treating children like animals, with stickers equating to food treats, concerns about the ‘controlling’ aspect of this approach, and the labelling of children as ‘winners’ or ‘losers’.

While calling the app Classroom Carrots is meant to suggest a fun approach,  it could also bring to mind the old adage – suggesting a rather depressing policy of reward and punishment.

For me this could be a step too far for stickers. What do you think?

Until recently, Hamleys contained a ‘Girls’ floor – a sea of pink, with the emphasis firmly on beauty, make-up, domestic activities and, of course, Barbie, and a ‘Boys’ floor full of action and war.

The pink and blue signs have now been replaced by red and white ones, and toys are categorised by type rather than gender.

The move comes hot on the heels of a campaign by blogger Laura Nelson, known as Delilah, who wrote to the store’s owners to complain.  Hamleys denies that Delilah had anything to do with this new approach, saying in a rather po-faced fashion, ‘It was made clear to us from consultants and customer surveys that our store directional signage was confusing. As a result we commenced changing all our signage in October of this year in order to improve customer flow.’

Whatever the real reason, this move by the biggest name in toy retailing has to be a step forward. The toys themselves may not have changed, but at least the explicit labelling of them as for boys or girls only has ceased.

Good news – except if you’re a Daily Mail reader. Comments on the Mail’s story were full of complaints about four-year-old nieces unable to find PINK Barbies, and outrage along the lines of ‘When will they just ignore interfering feminists?’

At least in this case they seem to have just ignored Daily Mail readers, which some might think is surely a good thing!

I stumbled on the numerous benefits of slings quite by accident – two long flights of stairs separating my flat from the outside world and no lift. We purchased the lightest pram we could find in preparation for our daughter being born but nothing can beat walking up and down flights of stairs with your child in a sling, so much easier!

I’ve now turned into the local madwoman who still has her 18 month old child strapped to her but it’s wonderful. The fantastic ‘Talk To Your Baby’ campaign has opened up many carers’ eyes to the child development benefits of having pusher-facing prams but I’d argue that slings are even better because they allow a child to be more closely involved in what’s going on. They are nearer to their carers’ face so that expressions can be seen and their voice can be clearly heard. There is also much more opportunity for interaction.

On our way to the childminder’s my daughter and I chat about alsorts and we often stop so she can feel the texture of tree bark and walls and, the most exciting thing, push the buttons at pedestrian crossings – which, while not impossible (I have seen a buggy lifted up so a strapped-in child can push the button!) it is much more difficult when wheeling along a pram. I also find that other adults chat with my child more when she is in the sling rather than her pram. While in the pram conversations tend to be held over her head, rather than involving her.

Slings have been found to aid young babies’ wellbeing through greater physical contact which brings a feeling of security and the reassurance of movement which also helps with bonding. Young babies who are carried in slings tend to cry less, research has found.

A £1,000 pram may look flash but it still won’t climb up and down stairs, be easily manouvered through crowds or hop onto busy public transport without a fuss. It also doesn’t come with a hands-free mode. A cheap sling wins the convenience prize hands-down.

The Bugaboo Donkey is aimed at parents and carers who have twins or two children close together in age but, still, why not use a sling? The baby could be carried in a sling while the older child is pushed in a buggy. Or, much to even my sling convert surprise, they can even be used to carry twins!

The Western world is spending a fortune on baby carriers rather than taking the financially and developmentally better option of ‘baby wearing’.

Well, on a similar note, I was at a friend’s family BBQ at the weekend and one of the children had brought with her a large selection of toys which she pushed around in a mini shopping trolley.

She emptied the toys on to the ground one by one telling anyone who would listen what each toy was and what it did. She took out several cuddly toys, dolls and electronic games. Then she pulled out the last item – it was hard to make out exactly what it was apart from that it was cream coloured and made from porcelain. Puzzled, we all asked her what the ‘toy’ was. She didn’t reply and continued to play. Amid the silence her mum spotted the porcelain item and asked her why she had brought it with her.

It turned out that the porcelain ‘toy’ was an old toilet roll holder that she had found abandoned at home. I think her mum was more embarrassed than anything whileher daughter continued to play happily with the toilet roll holder.