Developmental Stages

Your child will grow and change rapidly! For more information on each age and stage, please click on the links below.

• Birth
• 2 months
• 4-6 months
• 6-12 months
• 12-18 months
• 18-24 months
• 24 to 36 months
• 3 years
• 4 years
• 5 years

Choosing the Right Child Care

Choosing the right kind of child care is one of the first important issues a new parent faces.

Ask yourselves these questions:

1. Can you or your spouse afford to stay home with your child? It is also important to ask what you’d be happiest doing.
2. How much can you afford to pay? Nannies are usually most expensive, in-home child care least.
3. How flexible is your schedule? Child care centers and preschools usually have set drop-off and pick-up times.
4. Does your company offer a child care center, allow you to bring your baby to work with you, or let you work at home? This benefit allows you to continue working and still be near your child.
5. Do you have relatives nearby that can help?Many parents prefer relative care, especially with infants, because they know this caregiver best.
6. Would your child benefit the most from group play or from more individualized attention? During the first year, individualized attention is often best. After that, look for an environment that gives a mix of both.
7. Does your child have health issues or needs that require special attention? If so, you need to review them with your child’s pediatrician and ensure those needs are being met.
8. Do you prefer structured play and activities for your child, or are you comfortable with a more free-form situation?Some settings are more structured, while others have more flexible schedules. A balance is often best.

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Hundreds of Jacksonville parents sign their kids up for early learning program

Hundreds of Jacksonville parents sign their kids up for early learning program

By Jim Schoettler | Posted: January 30, 2011 | www.jacksonville.com

Blessed a bit later in life with their only child, Wayne and Shirley Johnson said they want to help him get ahead academically while still encouraging him to be an energetic little boy.

The Johnsons and their son, a handsome 3-year-old also named Wayne, were among hundreds of families who signed up Saturday for the state-funded voluntary pre-kindergarten program in Jacksonville.

"It's exposure for him in terms of being ... in a more conducive learning environment where children learn better with their own peers," said Wayne Johnson, 56. "It will develop his competitiveness."

"We've tried to prepare him for school with ABC's and 123's. This will just help that," said Shirley Johnson, 47.

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Raising Our Children Amid Stresses of Life

03 February 2011

Children can overcome even dire situations with the right guidance and loving parents.

By, Jeremy Cox | Posted: January 30, 2011 | www.Jacksonville.com

Natasha Jackson's daughter has faced more troubles in her six years than many people do in a lifetime. She was molested as a toddler by her uncle, grew up to a soundtrack of gunshots and sirens at a Northside apartment and was raised by a mother who once believed children should be reared "belt in hand."

Jennie Jusa's young girl has seen her share, too. She spent a quarter of her life inside a downtown Jacksonville homeless shelter, wedged into a single room with her mother and four older brothers.

And there's Tawanna Wright's boy, who witnessed the unthinkable: his mother being raped while he was cradled in her arms.

They can be found all over Jacksonville - young lives warped by the toxic trio of poverty, stress and a poisonous environment. Often these "stressors" mold children like a "Baby Einstein" video in reverse, leaving them ill-prepared for the rigors of formal education and scarred down to the cells inside their brains.

It is rare a family faces only one of these obstacles. They more commonly come as a package. An example: Needy families may be able to afford to live only in neighborhoods where violence and crime are commonplace. So their financial problems become enmeshed with an environment of fear, which generates lots of stress.

From the womb to age 5, when the developing brain is most vulnerable, the effect of an unstable upbringing can be devastating and lifelong.

Researchers, armed with advanced brain-imaging technology, have learned over the past 15 years that early experiences and environmental exposures can derail the brain's wiring. Among some low-income children, for example, the part of the brain responsible for problem- solving and creativity, the frontal lobe, showed patterns similar to adults who had suffered brain damage. A highly stressful childhood can even lead to the development of a smaller brain.

Click here for the rest of the story.

Everday Moments Shape Kids' Futures

03 February 2011

Area groups give moms and dads badly needed skills.

By Topher Sanders | Posted: January 31, 2011 | www.Jacksonville.com

What happens in a child's first four years of life can be the difference between a jump-start on learning or a path toward a frustrating existence, between a confident child who succeeds or a high school dropout who turns to crime.

No one is more important to the early foundation of a child than an engaged parent, who understands that his or her child is always listening, watching and learning. But it's a near deafening refrain of educators in Duval County and around the country - parents need to be more involved in their children's development.

Read the rest of the article by clicking here.

Raising a Fit Preschooler

10 January 2011

Preschoolers have a lot of energy, and they use it in a more organized way than when they were toddlers. Instead of just running around in the backyard, a preschooler has the physical skills and coordination to ride a tricycle or chase a butterfly.

Preschoolers are also discovering what it means to play with a friend instead of just alongside another child, as toddlers do. By being around other kids, a preschooler gains important social skills, such as sharing and taking turns. Despite occasional disputes, preschoolers learn to cooperate and interact during play.

Kids Count - Play

10 January 2011

Parents as Teachers reminds you that you are you child’s first and best teacher…so play with your child every day.

Play helps kids develop social skills such as cooperation, sharing and negotiating.

Play allows kids to feel emotions such as pleasure and success, while developing self-worth, overcoming fears and releasing stress.

Play builds healthy bodies and motor skills.

Play develops persistence and concentration, vocabulary and creative thinking…all important for school success. 

You also can use play to teach your child about family customs and to celebrate cultural traditions.

10 Tips for Raising a Good Sport

10 January 2011

By Bridget Bentz Sizer, http://www.pbs.org/parents/fitness/article-10tipsforraisingagoodsport.html

In the classic "Peanuts" comic strip, woeful Charlie Brown gears up to kick the football time after time, only to find himself face down on the ground after Lucy whisks the ball away at the last minute. It's a running joke — poor Charlie Brown never learns to hold back! But as a parent, I find it's the hapless hero's tormenter who captures my attention. Why is Lucy such a bad sport and — more importantly — how can we keep our kids from acting the same way? Here are 10 tips to set your kid on the path toward good sportsmanship.

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Student Achievement: An Empirical Investigation

03 January 2011

School Readiness, Full-Day Kindergarten, and Student Achievement: An Empirical Investigation

By, Vi-Nhuan Le, Sheila Nataraj Kirby, Heather Barney, Claude Messan Setodji, and Daniel Gershwin
RAND Corporation

Recent research has shown that the skills and knowledge that children have upon entering school is predictive of later achievement. As a result, there has been increased focus on school readiness of children entering kindergarten, where school readiness is broadly defined to include literacy and cognitive skills, and social, emotional, and physical development. Recognizing that children from disadvantaged backgrounds often lag behind their more advantaged peers with respect to cognitive and social‐emotional skills, some policymakers advocate the provision of full‐day kindergarten. Proponents of full‐day kindergarten argue that the extended time in these programs can be used to increase students’ readiness at kindergarten and beyond. However, critics point to the costs of implementing full‐day kindergartens, and the uncertainty about the long‐term benefits of full‐day kindergarten.

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