Developmental Milestones In Child Care

Many people don't know when working in child care one thing should be understood throughout, each child is different, sure they all follow the same milestones and stages but no amount of books and research can one hundred percent make us understand children, or can it? Early Childhood Education covers the period between birth to 9 years of age. During this time growth is very rapid growth, the children develop their cognitive, language, social, emotional, problem-solving and motor skills. So the question here is do Developmental Milestones and Stages apply exactly to children and how do teachers apply all of these studies to Early Child Care classrooms?

The goal of all early education services is to enhance the development and learning of

It starts with infancy and continues to adulthood. By studying child development, one can form a profile of what children can do at various ages. Different names are used to describe young children at different ages. From birth through the first year children are called Infants who have very different personalities. Toddlers are children from age one up to the third birthday. The term preschooler is often used to describe children ages 3 to 6 years of age. Developmental milestones are behaviors or physical skills seen in children as they grow and develop. Rolling over, crawling, walking, and talking are all considered milestones. The milestones are different for each age

However, due to all of these studies and knowledge on children and their care, child care providers fail to see that every single child in their programs are different. For instance, there are home base care centers known as Family Child Care homes. In these types of care centers, care is provided in a private home with a small number of children. Then there are custodial centers which are care centers that focus primarily on children's physical needs. Finally last but certainly not least are the Head Start Programs. Head Start is on of the most successful preschool and toddler programs in the country. The Head Start centers help children from low-income families overcome the negative effects of poverty at such a young age. These programs all different types but all have one common goal and that is the safety and care of young children from all over. Children come in all different shapes sizes, some look alike, act alike but like snowflakes no two are exactly the same. The stages and milestones help guide child care providers when dealing with children. Which in terms help care providers better run their centers and care for the