When children develop from babies to teenagers to adults they go through a series of developmental stages which are important to all facets of their personality including physical, academic, emotional and social. The parent’s proper role is to provide encouragement, support, and access to activities which enable the child to master key developmental tasks.

A parent is the first teacher of their child and should remain their best teacher throughout their entire lives. The parent, acting as a mentor, introduces a child to age-appropriate challenges to promote growth as well as interactions that enable the child to explore on His/Her own and benefit by engaging with their environment.

Specialists in Child Development have established that children from birth are encouraged to explore and learn from each encounter. Researchers in Child Development took the concept of scaffolding from the construction trade. Just as scaffolding is placed up to support the building’s foundation as it is being constructed and slowly taken down as the building can stand alone, a parent will need to provide a child with the necessary support to help them to explore and learn from their environment in a healthy and productive manner. As the child matures and gains competence it eliminates or adjusts the scaffolding to allow the child to become more independent. If the child is not quite ready, the assistance will be restored and removed again slowly.

The information here provides parents with the awareness and instructions and resources to provide their child with the help, encouragement and learning experiences needed to grow and develop in accordance with their specific developmental plan. We include timelines for progress, videos, suggestions for development support, and suggestions for more resources to help you and your kids.