The early stages in life are important for children's learning, development, and their overall health. Our team aims to support families and their young children with resources and services that promote healthy child development.
Sleep, physical activity, connectedness, safety, and nutrition are the building blocks for children who are ready to thrive and learn when they enter kindergarten. We help support parents to meet these needs, helping their children reach important milestones. We also help parents to foster and build their children's social, emotional, and cognitive development. Parents can access our free services in many ways.
Your child's brain begins to grow in pregnancy and develops most quickly from birth to 3 years of age. As a parent, you play an important role in this early brain development.
The relationships children experience with the people around them and the environment in which they live, grow, play and learn, all affect how children learn to cope with stress and adversity throughout their lives. These early interactions with the people and places around them, play a crucial role.
Learn more about how you can support your child's healthy brain development.
Research tells us that Adverse Childhood Experiences (stressful or traumatic events) can lead to negative health outcomes in adulthood. Examples of these negative experiences may include:
- Abuse
- Neglect
- Living in poverty
- Having a caregiver with mental illness or substance use problem.
These experiences and the stress they put on a child's brain, can impact their growth, development, and overall well-being. Learning more about these experiences and the impact they have on a child is an important step in learning how to help them learn to cope with stress and reduce the risk of negative effects throughout their life.
Building a strong attachment with your baby is important for their overall health and well-being. Attachment involves the interaction, sharing and connecting that happens between child and caregiver. It provides a healthy foundation for your child's exploration of the world around them and is the first way in which your child learns about relationships.
Serve and return is a concept that describes when a child “serves” (babbles, gestures, cries or makes eye contact) and the parent or caregiver “returns” (responds with words, touch or expression such as smile).
This responsive back-and-forth interaction between child and parent is essential for strengthening brain connections, helping children learn to regulate emotions and supporting social development. Learn more here.
Children experience growth and development in many ways. Learn about how and when they develop new skills (gross motor, fine motor, language, social and cognitive skills) by visiting Caring for Kids and Pathways.
Infant growth
Your baby should have regular well-baby visits with a healthcare provider. You can ask questions and have your baby weighed and measured during these visits:
- 1-2 weeks
- 1 month (optional)
- 2 months
- 4 months
- 6 months
- 9 months (optional)
- 12 months
- 18 months
- 24 months
*Once per year after 2 years of age
Babies gain weight and length at their own pace. If you have concerns about your baby's growth, it is important to follow up with your healthcare provider. If you would like to learn more about your baby's growth and development, our public health nurses are available to answer your questions.
We also offer free Well Baby Drop-Ins at EarlyON locations across Haldimand-Norfolk where you can speak to a public health nurse about your baby's growth and development and get help with breastfeeding, infant sleep, teething and many other questions you may have. See the clinics and classes page for more information.
Looksee Checklist
Every baby is unique and will develop differently. The Looksee Checklist is a good tool to help keep track of your baby’s development. There is a different checklist for each developmental stage, up to age six, and each checklist includes a list of ideas and activities parents can do with their child to help with development. Reach out to us to learn more and receive free checklists for your child.
For more information visit the Looksee Checklist website or Caring for Kids website.
This is an evidence-based tool that examines parent-child interactions in detail. These interactions with your child (3 years and younger) happen daily and often, specifically when feeding and playing (teaching). As part of the Healthy Babies Healthy Children program, public health nurses may ask to observe an interaction between you and your baby to support your parenting journey and to learn about ways to encourage meaningful interactions with your child.
Our Family Home Visitors use these activities as part of the Healthy Babies Healthy Children program. These evidence-based activities focus on emotional communication, regulation skills, understanding what the baby is trying to communicate, respecting the baby, building routines, and building play as a way for children to learn through everyday skills.
Early Years Check-In: A simple survey of your child’s social, emotional, language, movement, thinking, and learning skills. It can be used to identify areas of concern in children aged 18 months-6 years.
Play & Learn: Developmental information and age-specific activities for your toddler and preschooler.
Center on the Developing Child: Key concepts of early childhood development.