Child development

Early Child Development
Data from: The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH, DHHS

Mentoring your child to support and encourage desired behaviors.
When you were growing up, did you have a special person your life who did things with you, gave you advice, or was a good listener? This person may have been a relative or friend of the family who was older than you. If so, then you had a mentor.

Since the early 1980s, formal mentoring programs that pair children with caring mentors have been highly successful. Mentoring, whether an informal relationship or a formal program, has a focused goal: guiding children through adolescence so they can become happy, healthy adults.

You may know that all children need mentors, but did you know that parents make great mentors?

Modeling your own behavior to provide a consistent, positive example for your child.
"When I grow up, I want to be just like you." Has your child ever said this to you?

It’s a bittersweet statement for a parent to hear. On the one hand, it’s touching to have your child look up to you in this way; on the other, being a role model comes with great responsibility.

Role models come in all shapes and sizes; they do all kinds of jobs; they come from any country or city. Some children view athletes as their role models; other children look up to authors or scientists. And, believe it or not, many children see their parents as role models.

All too often, parenting behavior is guided by adults reacting to their own childhood; that is, many parents think: I don’t ever want to be like my parents; or it was good enough for me, so it’s good enough for my kids. Remember that reacting instead of responding prevents you from making decisions that can change the outcome of a situation. To be a more effective, consistent, active, and attentive parent, it’s best to focus on your children and their lives.

Does this mean that you have to be perfect so your child will grow up to be perfect, too? Of course not. No one is perfect. But, you do need to figure out what kind of example you are setting for your child.

Click here for developmental milestones from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Little Thinkers programs are designed to put the parents in charge of their child’s development. Parents can decide which program to play and motivate their children to watch and learn. For further enrichment, parents can play the quiz after each video to see if the children captured the main concepts from the program. Each video includes a discussion from a child psychologist about the specific type of development reviewed in the program.

Click here to see a preview.

Early Child Development - part 1

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