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It doesn’t take long to develop the confidence and calm of an experienced childcare professional. A baby will give you the most important information—how she likes to be treated, talked to, held, and comforted. This section addresses basic milestones.

(15:30) When Should my Baby... Milestones 0-12 months by Babies and Bones

(04:44) The Baby Brain by First Things First

(09:06) What is the Period of PURPLE Crying? by purple NCSBS

Can you remember the last time you played peek-a-boo with a young child? You may think it is just a fun child’s game, but actually it is helping brains of very young children develop.

5 Secrets to a Smarter Baby: School Readiness Can Start Now. As child care professionals, we all want happy, healthy babies. Not only that, we want them to be smart.

11 Common Conditions in Newborns. Some physical conditions are common during the first couple of weeks after birth. If you notice any of the following in your baby, recommend the advice of a pediatrician.​​

Developmental Milestones: 3 Months. By the time a baby is three months of age, she will have made a dramatic transformation from a totally dependent newborn to an active and responsive infant.

Emotional & Social Development in Babies: Birth to 3 Months. By two months of age, a baby will spend much of each day watching and listening to the people around her. She learns that they will entertain and soothe her, feed her, and make her comfortable.

Developmental Milestones of Early Literacy. Good child care professionals read to newborns before they can hold their heads up or focus their eyes on the pages. Occasionally there are those who start even sooner—reading to their unborn children.

How Do Infants Learn? It may seem that a baby does nothing but eat, sleep, cry, and fill her diapers. But an infant is learning too. She can see and hear what is happening around her and can communicate her needs and interests to her child care provider.

Safety for Your Child: Birth to 6 Months. Did you know that hundreds of children younger than 1 year die every year in the US because of injuries — most of which could be prevented? Often, injuries happen because of unawareness of what babies can do.

States of Consciousness in Newborns. There are actually six states of consciousness through which your baby cycles several times a day. Two are sleep states; the others are waking states.

The Many Colors of Baby Poop. Seeing red can mean blood, especially in the newborn period when your baby isn't eating or drinking anything red colored that could be mistaken for blood when it comes out the other end. Alert the pediatrician.

Cognitive Development: 4 to 7 Months. During this period, one of the most important concepts she’ll refine is the principle of cause and effect. She’ll probably stumble on this notion by accident somewhere between four and five months.

Emotional and Social Development: 4 to 7 Months. The more subtle aspects of a baby’s personality are determined largely by her constitutional makeup or temperament. Is she rambunctious or gentle? Easygoing or easily upset? Headstrong or compliant?

Language Development: 4 to 7 Months. Although it may sound like gibberish, if you listen closely, you’ll hear her raise and drop her voice as if she were making a statement or asking a question. Encourage her by talking to her throughout the day.

Toys ​Appropriate for Your 4- to 7-Month-Old ​Unbreakable plastic or mylar mirror Soft balls, including some that make soft, pleasant sounds Textured toys that make sounds Toys that have fingerholds Musical toys, such as bells, maracas, tambourines.

Safety for Your Child: 6 to 12 Months. Your child is a fast learner and will suddenly be able to roll over, crawl, sit, and stand. A child may climb before walking, or walk with support months before you expect. Your child will grasp at almost anything.

How to Share Books with Your 6 to 8 Month Old. 6-8 Month Olds Can: Hold onto a book and pat the pictures. Taste a book. Copy some of the sounds you say and the looks on your face. Pay attention to a book for a few minutes at a time.

Cognitive Development: 8 to 12 Months. An eight-month-old is curious about everything, but he also has a very short attention span and will move rapidly from one activity to the next. Two to three minutes is the most he’ll spend with a single toy.

Developmental Milestones: 12 Months. From eight to twelve months of age your baby will become increasingly mobile; Being able to move from place to place will give your child a delicious sense of power and control—her first taste of physical independence

Emotional and Social Development: 8 to 12 Months. During these months, your child sometimes may seem like two separate babies. There’s the one who’s open, affectionate, and outgoing with you. But then there’s another who’s anxious, clinging and fearful.

Language Development: 8 to 12 Months. Toward the end of the first year, your baby will begin to communicate what she wants by pointing, crawling, or gesturing toward her target. She’ll also imitate many of the gestures she sees adults make as they talk.

Movement: Babies 8 to 12 Months. Once your baby feels secure standing, she'll try tentative steps while holding on for support. When your hands aren't avail­able, she'll cruise alongside furniture. Just make sure whatever she uses for support is safe.

Transitional Objects. Special comforts are called transitional objects, because they help children make the emotional transition from dependence to independence. They work, in part, because they feel good: They’re soft, cuddly, and nice to touch.

Hand and Finger Skills. At the beginning of this period, he’ll still clumsily “rake” things toward himself, but by the end, he’ll grasp accurately with his thumb and first or second finger. He will practice this pincer movement on any small object.

Quiz: Advanced Infant Growth and Development 0-12 Months

Toddler: ​​​A child is advancing from infancy toward and into the preschool years. During this time, his or her physical growth and motor development will slow, but you can expect to see some tremendous intellectual, social, and emotional changes.

10 Tips to Prevent Aggressive Toddler Behavior. As a toddler or preschooler, a child may lack the self-control to express anger peacefully and may naturally lash out, perhaps hitting or biting in frustration.

Cognitive Development: One-Year-Old. Imitation is a big part of her learning process at this age. This copying behavior happens between toddlers and the people in her life. It is an ideal time to take advantage of these natural developmental cues.

Cognitive Development: Two-Year-Old. as a two-year-old, the learning process has become more thoughtful. His grasp of language is increasing, and he’s beginning to form mental images for things, actions, and concepts. He also can solve some problems.

Developmental Milestones: 2 Year Olds. A baby enters her second year and becomes a toddler, crawling vigorously, starting to walk, even talking a little and exploring boundaries established by your rules and her own physical and developmental limits.

Emotional Development: 1 Year Olds. Throughout her second year, a child will swing back and forth constantly between fierce independence and clinging to you. Now she can walk and do things for herself physically, she has the power to move away from you.

Emotional Development: 2 Year Olds. It’s difficult to follow the ups and downs of a two-year-old. One moment he’s beaming and friendly; the next he’s sullen and weepy—and often for no apparent reason. Mood swings, however, are just part of growing up.

Hand and Finger Skills: 1 Year Olds. At twelve months, it’s still a challenge for her to pick up very small objects between her thumb and forefinger, but by the middle of her second year this task will be simple. Watch how she’ll manipulate small objects.

Hand and Finger Skills: 2 Year Olds. At age two, a child will be able to manipulate small objects with ease. He’ll turn the pages of a book, build a tower six blocks high, pull off his shoes, and unzip a large zipper.

How to Ease a Child’s Separation Anxiety. It is an entirely normal behavior and a beautiful sign of a meaningful attachment. The trick for surviving separation anxiety demands preparation, brisk transitions, and the evolution of time.

How to Raise Concerns about a Child’s Speech and Language Development: Do’s and Don’ts. While raising any concern to parents about their child is difficult, it is in a child's best interest to have any speech and/or language issues identified and treated.

(00:30) Signs of Healthy Development by American Academy of Pediatrics

How to Share Books with Your 12 to 14 Month Old. 12-14 Month Olds Can: Choose a book to share. Point to pictures they like in a book. Imitate animal sounds when they look at a picture of that animal. Imitate your reactions to the book you are enjoying.

How to Share Books with a 15 to 17 Month Old. Make up games, while looking at pictures, like: “Where’s the girl’s nose? Where’s my nose? Where’s your nose?” Name and then demonstrate actions in a book, such as “Laughing. Look at the boy laughing.”

How to Share Books with an 18 to 23 Month Old. 18-23 Month Olds Can: Choose a book to share and tell you they want “more book” or “‘nother book.” Point to a favorite picture and say a word or two about it. Finish some sentences from books they know well.

How to Share Books with 2 and 3 Year Olds. 3 Year Olds Can: Name the books they want to read. Pretend to read a favorite book aloud to you. Tell you how a story is like things they have seen or done. Ask you questions about books you are enjoying.

Language Delays in Toddlers: Information for Child Care Professionals. Children develop at different rates, but they usually are able to do certain things at certain ages. Following are general developmental milestones.

Language Development: 1 Year Olds. Early in the second year, a toddler will suddenly seem to understand everything you say. You’ll announce lunchtime and he’ll be waiting by his high chair. He’s developing his language and comprehension skills.

Language Development: 2 Year Olds. A two-year-old not only understands most of what you say to him, but also speaks with a rapidly growing vocabulary of fifty or more words. Over the course of this year, he’ll graduate from two- or three-word sentences.

Milestones During The First 2 Years. By 1 year, most babies will Look for and be able to find where a sound is coming from. Respond to their name most of the time when you call it. Wave goodbye. Look where you point when you say, “Look at the _________.”

Movement and Coordination. At this age, a child will seem to be continually on the go—running, kicking, climbing, jumping. His attention span, which was never very long, may now seem even shorter. Start a game with him and he’ll change to a different one.

Safety for Your Child: 1 to 2 Years. Often, injuries happen because care givers are not aware of what a child can do. At this age a child can walk, run, climb, jump, and explore everything. It is your responsibility to protect children from injury.

Safety for Your Child: 2 to 4 Years. A child will be able to open any drawer and climb anywhere curiosity leads. A child may swallow anything he or she finds. Use only household products and medicines that are necessary and keep them safely out of reach.

Social Development: 1 Year Olds. During his second year, your toddler will develop a very specific image of his social world, friends, and acquaintances. He is at its center. As far as he’s concerned, everyone thinks as he does.

Social Development: 2 Year Olds. At age two, children view the world almost exclusively through their own needs and desires. They can’t yet understand how others might feel in the same situation, they assume that everyone thinks, feels exactly as they do.

Stuttering in Toddlers & Preschoolers: What’s Typical, What’s Not? It is not uncommon for young children to have disfluencies in their speech (e.g., word or phrase repetitions). In fact, about 5% of all children are likely to be disfluent at some point.

Quiz: Advanced Toddler Growth & Development Stages

Play therapy is a form of therapy used primarily for children. That’s because children may not be able to process their own emotions or articulate problems to parents or other adults. While it may look like an ordinary playtime play therapy is much more

(03:51) PLAY THERAPY - WHAT IS IT? by Playful Pathways

(07:43) Play Therapy Works! by Association for Play Therapy

Play is all about fun! Any activity, organized or unstructured, your child finds fun and enjoyable is considered play. But play is much more than just a fun activity for your child! As a child grows they go through different stages of play development.

(20:19) The Heart-Brain Connection: The Neuroscience of Social, Emotional, and Academic Learning by Edutopia

A high ACE score does not mean a person will necessarily develop correlating physical and behavioral health problems. It simply means that they are at greater risk. Moreover, while ACEs can impact the development of the brain the effect is reversible.

What is Trauma-Informed Care? Trauma-Informed Care understands and considers the pervasive nature of trauma and promotes environments of healing and recovery rather than practices and services that may inadvertently re-traumatize.

Conscious Discipline is a social-emotional learning program. Designed by Dr. Becky Bailey the program supports first teaching ourselves about self-control and self-regulation and then teaching children. It helps us see how we respond when we are triggered

(05:18) Conscious Discipline Basics - Conscious Discipline Skills by Conscious Discipline

(06:33) Handling Temper Tantrums - Conscious Discipline Skills by Conscious Discipline

Report Abuse, Neglect, or Exploitation: Report Abuse By Phone: 1-800-252-5400 Online: www.txabusehotline.org

Quiz: Introducing Play Therapy, Trauma Informed Care & Conscious Discipline

EXIT SURVEY: Advanced Infant & Toddler Growth & Development