2. • What Does a Young
Child Need?
• What is the
Caregiver’s Role?
• Lessons That Last
• Caregiver Hints
• Developmental RED
FLAG ALERTS
• Early Childhood
Programs
• Early Childhood
Resources
• Car Seat Information
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3. What Does a Young Child Need?
• EVERYTHING… – Emotional Needs:
• Security
• Assistance to meet • Care
– Physical Needs: • Nurturance
• Food • Love
• Clothing • Hope
• Cleanliness – Social Needs:
• Shelter
• Interact with
• Safety / protection caregiver and others,
• Play including children the
same age
• Opportunity to play
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4. What Does a Young Child Need?
continued
– Psychological
Needs:
• Know he/she is
important to the
caregiver
• Learn who he/she is
• Develop a positive
self esteem
– Cognitive Needs:
• Read to the child
• Build language skills.
Talk with the child,
even when they are
too young to know all
you are saying.
• Play with the child
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5. What is the Role of the Caregiver?
• The caregiver is the significant person
who meets the child’s needs on an
ongoing basis.
• Provides love, care, and
nurturance for the child.
• Makes sure the child is safe
and healthy.
• Engages the child in play,
conversation, singing, and
activities that expand learning.
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6. Lessons that Last a Lifetime
• Young children learn
from infancy about
the world.
• Many of the lessons
are taught by the
caregiver.
• Some of these
lessons relate to...
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7. TRUST
The Infant Knows His/Her Needs
will be Met
• It is vital to babies
under one year to
develop a sense of
trust; knowing the
caregiver will meet their
needs.
• Trust is born from
having the baby’s needs
met by a consistent
caregiver.
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8. INDEPENDENCE
The Young Child Explores and
Learns What He/She Can Do
• The caregiver provides
a safe environment
with supervision and
encouragement for the
child to explore.
• Exercise their will and
learn self-control.
• Desires to test
independence.
• Walking is step toward
independence...
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9. INITIATIVE
Young Child Takes Action When
He/She Feels Capable and Confident
to Do New Things
• Preschoolers begin
to imagine
• Learn skills through
play
• Increase in ability to
follow directions
• Gain new skills
• Feel capable to
learn
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10. Caregiver Hints
• Things to do together:
– Talk (even to a baby)
– Read books daily
– Play with blocks, balls,
trikes, puppets, and
more
– Draw (big crayons)
– Teach a song
– HAVE FUN...
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11. Developmental RED FLAG ALERTS
• Refers to behavioral indicators that
show that a child is not developing at a
normal range. These behaviors are
areas of concern when they are seen
consistently over a period of time.
Some children are “early bloomers”
and others may be delayed
in some areas but still within
the normal range of development.
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12. Developmental RED FLAG ALERTS
• Infants under 6
months:
– Failure to gain weight – Failure to show
– Unable to make eye anticipatory behavior
contact or follow at feeding
objects – Lack of interest in
– Failure to hold head up social stimuli
– Failure to hold on with – Does not grasp or
hands reach for objects
– No response to loud – Tight muscles or
sounds muscles appear stiff
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13. Developmental RED FLAG ALERTS
• Infants 9 to 12 months -
– Does not gain weight – Does not use
gestures, such as
– Lack of affect
waving or shaking
– Not able to say single head
words, such as “mama” –
Drags one side of
– Does not look at body while crawling
caregiver for social (for over one month)
cues or comfort – Does not search for
– Does not crawl object that are
– Cannot stand when hidden while s/he
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14. Developmental RED FLAG ALERTS
• Toddler 18 to 24 months-
– No speech
– Excessive body rocking
– Sleep disturbance
– Out of the ordinary play
– Withholding and other
bowel problems
– Retarded development
or persistent regression
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15. Developmental RED FLAG ALERTS
• Three-Year-Olds -
– Frequent falling and – No involvement in
difficulty with stairs “pretend” play
– Persistent drooling or – Little interest in other
very unclear speech children
– Inability to build a tower
of more than four blocks
– Difficulty manipulating
small objects
– Inability to communicate
in three word sentences
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16. Developmental RED FLAG ALERTS
• Four-Year-Olds -
– Cannot throw a ball – Ignores other children
overhand – Resists dressing,
– Cannot jump in place sleeping, using the toilet
– Cannot grasp a crayon – Does not use sentences
between thumb and of more than three words
finger – Cannot copy a circle
– Has difficulty scribbling – Lashes out with no self
– Shows no interest in control whenever angry
interactive games or upset
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17. Developmental RED FLAG ALERTS
• Five-Year-Olds -
– Severely unhappy or
– Extremely fearful or
sad much of the time
timid
– Seems unusually
– Extremely aggressive
passive
– Easily distracted and
– Cannot talk about daily
unable to concentrate
activities
on a single activity for
more than five minutes – Has trouble taking off
clothing
– Shows little interest in
playing with other – Cannot wash and dry
children his/her hands
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18. What to Do
When Red Flag Alerts are Noted?
• Have the young
child evaluated by
the child’s
pediatrician.
• Obtain input from
the childcare center
professional.
• Request a
developmental
assessment.
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19. Early Childhood Education Programs
Components of Quality Childcare Programs
• Care center is licensed • Equipment is
• Care provider is caring appropriate to care for
and focused on the the child’s age
needs of every child • Toys and activities are
• Number and ages of appropriate for the
children allow for good child’s development
childcare practice • A routine is
• Area is clean and SAFE established for rest
• Foods are nutritious and play
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20. Early Childhood Programs
• HEAD START
– Federally funded to serve children 3.9
years
– Some communities have programs
beginning for young children as early as
18-24 months.
– Services available at NO COST
– 3.5 hour daily programs - Monday through
Friday
– Lunch and snacks provided
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21. Features of HEAD START Programs:
• Assessment
screening for special
• Provide family
needs
– Speech therapy
support services
– In home visits
– Developmental
milestones, etc. – Parenting classes
• Emphasis on school • Individual Education
readiness Plan developed for
• Literacy each child
Development • Assistance transition
• Field trips to a new school
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22. ALL YOUNG CHILDREN MUST BE
BUCKLED IN A CAR SEAT
for EVERY RIDE
• Birth - 1 year, under 22
pounds must be in rear-
facing child safety seat,
5-point belt harness is
best
• 1 to 6 years of age,
under 60 pounds,
forward-facing child
safety seat, 5-point belt
harness is best
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