The Children & Families Commission of Orange County has published a toolkit for parents to help them support their children’s healthy development.
The toolkit is based on the Early Development Instrument and provides parents with tips to help development across all five EDI domains. It is adapted from Getting Your Child Ready for School: A Parent’s Toolkit, created by members of the Understanding the Early Years Malton Service Providers Network.
Some examples from the toolkit include:
Physical Health and Well-Being: Take short walks together around the neighborhood. This is a great time to play “I Spy” and “I Hear.”
Social Competence: Talk to your child about sharing and taking turns, then set up an activity where you and your child can take turns.
Emotional Maturity: Don’t push your child to do things that make him or her afraid. Instead, give your child time to take small steps toward the activity.
Language & Cognitive Development: Make conversation with your child an important part of every day. Remember: your child learns about language by watching and imitating you.
Communication Skills & General Knowledge: Find a comfortable time to talk about your child’s day. Model this for your child by talking about your own day.
Some of the suggestions are also Kid Builder activities, which are available as a separate downloadable resource. These include ideas for games and activities parents can do with their children.