The early years of a child’s life are formative in so many ways.
No matter where life takes them, the influences and impressions that they form in their earliest years will always play a big part in who they are and how they experience the world.
That is why understanding the basics of child development is so important for parents.
Whether it’s looking to improve your child’s overall health and well-being or making sure they are on the right path towards a bright future, you will want to have as much information as possible when deciding how your child will spend their time while growing up.
Below are a list of trustworthy and useful resources that we advise reading through when thinking about your child’s development.
Articles, Research & Blogs
A measuring tool: The CDC website features a developmental milestones page full of useful information for parents on promoting their child’s long-term healthy development. For each significant age your child reaches, from two-months all the way to five-years-old, there is a checklist of major milestones that you can use to monitor and evaluate whether they are developing appropriately. The checklists provided are very practical, and can help you identify any potential challenges or concerns early on—which can make all the difference in effectively addressing them.
Looking at the big picture: HealthyChildren is a parenting website backed by 67,000 pediatricians. Its mission statement declares that it is “committed to the attainment of optimal physical, mental, and social health and well-being for all infants, children, adolescents and young adults.” It takes a big picture approach to health, and contains detailed articles on all kinds of topics like nutrition, fitness, sleep, emotional wellness, healthy family dynamics and so much more. Among its many features, the website has an ages and stages section that walks you through age-specific informational articles. It also offers helpful tools such as parent webinars, digital copies of magazines, an interactive online symptom checker module, a search engine for locating pediatricians and an “Ask the Pediatrician” Q&A platform.
Books Worth Reading:
There are a number of books we recommend for parents trying to get a deeper understanding of various issues and considerations affecting a child’s general wellness.
For further reading on several important topics, feel free to check out the following books:
- When the World Feels Like a Scary Place: Essential Conversations for Anxious Parents and Worried Kids, Dr. Abigail Gewirtz
- 8 Keys to Raising the Quirky Child: How to Help a Child Who Doesn’t (Quite) Fit In (8 Keys to Mental Health), Mark Bowers
- Growing an In-Sync Child: Simple, Fun Activities to Help Every Child Develop, Learn and Grow, Carol Kranowitz and Joye Newman
- Helping Your Child With Extreme Picky Eating: A Step-by-Step Guide for Overcoming Selective Eating, Food Aversion, and Feeding Disorders, Katja Rowell and Jenny McGlothlin
Working towards a healthy and balanced lifestyle in which your child can thrive will make a major difference in their development.
The Empirian Therapy team offers services that can help your family in pursuing that goal. For more information, please reach out. We are always happy to help.
