About me

Hi, I’m Nicola Manton, the creator of Guiding Little Hands. I am a passionate Early Childhood Educator, Childminder, former Nanny, Newborn Care Specialist, Maternity Nurse, and Author. I have dedicated my professional life to understanding how children learn, and how we, as adults, can facilitate them best in developing a lifelong love of learning.  

I have always been interested in child development, and during my time at University, I worked in preschool classrooms to gain a hands-on knowledge of how children are exposed to early learning opportunities. After graduating with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology in Education, I took what I’d learned and began working one-on-one with children in their homes; finding that classroom teaching didn’t allow for the deeply personable relationships to be formed, or the time, that I wanted to truly discover how children develop and how their learning can be facilitated throughout early development.

Over the next 15 years, I worked with families in New York City, developing long lasting relationships with young children and discovering what it is that makes their learning experiences valuable. During that time, I graduated with my Master’s in Education, with specialization in School Counseling, with the goal of understanding education from the perspective of what is going on for children not only from an academic standpoint, but from knowing that all aspects of life impact how they function and learn.

In 2019, I started to put what I had learned into an easy to navigate form, so that parents, teachers, and caregivers could use the information to apply these methods to their daily interactions with their children. I developed the CCC method to be used not only in the classroom, but also, and possibly more significantly, in the home. I believe that teaching children should not be stressful for either party, and learning must always be FUN.  You can find my book “The CCC Method: A guide to making teachable moments count” here!

Also in 2019, I published my first children’s book “A Hug” - introducing consent to children as young as 2 years old. Click here to find out more! My second children’s book “The Useful Little Roll” came out in 2022.

In 2022, I completed training to become a Newborn Care Specialist in order to really hone my skills and ability to help families through every stage of parenthood. Following this, I became certified in Post-Natal Maternity Care and have continued to provide support to parents in the very early stages of parenthood.

In 2025, I moved my passion for early child development back home to the UK and set up my home-from-home Childminder setting. I am delighted to offer home-based care and learning to even more children.

Follow me on Instagram for more! @guidinglittlehands