Early Childhood Development

    Cognitive

• Brain Connection - Multitude of information on cognitive and brain development, and readers can sign up for a free bi-weekly newsletter about the brain.
• Cognitive Milestones - Checklist that includes information on memory, means-end, object concept, and pre-academic skills.
• Stages of Cognitive Development - Based on the work of Jean Piaget, information is presented in an easy to read chart and includes a section devoted to how parents can increase their child's cognitive development through play.

    Communication

• Improving Your Baby's Communication Skills - Parents - eight easy ways to improve their infant's language skills.
• Language Milestones - A chart listing language skills from 6 months to 8 years, as well as links to more detailed information about each stage.
• Signing With Your Baby - Advantages of signing, and provides resources, news, updates, products and videos. 
• Vocal Development - Early speech development, examples of speech sounds that children produce before they say words on a regular basis, and easy interventions parents and professionals can use to increase communication skills.

    Language

• Age-by-Age Insights - Learn how to talk to kids of any age and listen through your children's ears. Discover how much of your conversation kids really understand -- and why they don't seem to pay attention when you want them to.
• Language Milestone Chart - A language milestone chart for children birth to age 6, and includes activities and strategies to encourage language development.
• Oral Language Development - Oral language development in young children and offers parents and teachers suggestions to foster communication.
• Stimulating Language Development - Dr. Alice Honig offers "Twenty Tips to Caregivers" on stimulating language development.
• Talking Milestones - Toddlers' use of language and presents activities for encouraging language development and pre-reading skills.

    Motor

• Dad University - Ideas for games Dads can play with their young children to improve gross motor skills.
• Fine Motor Activities - Activities for increasing fine motor skills are presented and are easily adaptable for an early education setting.
• Gross Motor Activities - Activities to help children develop fitness and body/spatial awareness are presented along with a chart that focuses on promoting locomotion, manipulation and stabilization.
• Motor Milestones Checklist - Information on gross and fine motor development for birth to age 6 in a checklist format useful for parents and early childhood professionals.
• Preschool Kids Do Better When They Talk To Themselves - According to a recent study, parents shouldn't worry about young children talking to themselves, in fact 5 year olds perform better on motor tasks!
• Understanding Motor Development - Written from the child's point of view, this site gives information about fine and gross motor development for 1-3 year olds.

    Physical

• Child Physical Development - How to help a young child's physical development at school, home, and in the community and also provides a list of motor activities.
• Does Size Really Matter? - Everyone talks about how tall -- or short -- a child is; this article discusses whether size really matters.
• Encouraging Physical Development of Toddlers - Fine and gross motor activities are discussed along with developmental milestones and suggestions for parents.
• Quick Reference Guide - Physical development chart that is broken down in months beginning with birth then in years from 1 to 5 years of age.
• Role of Exercise - Stresses the importance of physical development and exercise, provides activity ideas, and discusses the role of the adult.
• See How They Grow - How to tell whether your child is growing properly and provides information on how to help your child achieve optimum growth.

    Self-Help

• Adaptive Milestones Checklist - Self-help milestones for ages birth to 6 and includes information on eating, drinking and dressing.
• Self-Help Milestones - A child's viewpoint, provides information on eating, dressing, grooming, and household skills for ages 1 to 3 and includes activities to facilitate development.
• Teaching Self-Care Skills - Teach self-care skills to children includes information on toileting skills, guides to healthy eating habits, and developmental delays.
• Teaching Your Young Child Specific Self-Help Skills - Fun interactive ways to teach self-help skills using picture cues, rhymes and song, and motor activities.
• The Right Time to Start Toilet Training: Children's Readiness - Informs parents what they need to learn about the signs and signals that indicate children are ready to begin toilet training.
• Tips for Fostering Self-Help Skills - Self-help skills and offers parents of preschoolers activities and suggestions for developing those skills.

    Social / Emotional

• Boostkids - Boost your child's self confidence, self esteem and self worth by teaching people skills and building character.
• Developing Social Competence - Research articles on assessing social competence, developing social competence, and peer relationships and conflicts with children. Also, the home page offers various aspects of parenting.
• Emotional Development - The social and emotional development for different ages. Each file is easy to read for parents and caregivers about what to expect and when to seek help.
• Promoting Social Emotional Development - Tips and tools that will help you promote social emotional development in infants and toddlers, as well as a link to Zero to Three's most popular resources.
• Social Story Intervention - Social story intervention materials. The website allows a teacher to customize stories using a child's name, likeness and situations. Also, there is information and suggestions for activities to help build social skills.
• Social Skills Milestones - Checklist of the development of social skills from birth to age 6.
• Stages of Social Development - Social development in twelve stages and information is presented in a parent friendly manner. Activities that can be performed at home are included which not only improve social development, but language as well.