1. The first five years of a child's life are crucial to their physical, mental, social, and emotional development. Based on the reading, discuss what are the most important things (give us your top 3-5) for parents to do to promote healthy growth in all areas of a child's development? 2. Discuss various ways can parents promote self-regulation within their children? Effective parenting is essential to children’s growth and development. Parenting young children is a challenging and often isolating task, but good parenting is essential to the well-being of children. In this lesson, students will explore children’s growth, skillful parenting techniques, ways for parents to access needed support, and how to monitor and supervise media use for their school-age children. Topics to be covered include: · Techniques to help children aged 0- 5 years develop positive relationships with family and peers. · Parenting techniques that help children aged 0-5 years learn to regulate their behavior and develop problem solving skills. · Ways in which parents support children’s cognitive, physical, social-emotional and language development during the first five years of life. CONTINUE · Most parents bring their newborn home and feel utterly overwhelmed--even parents who have done it before. Caring for a new baby is all-encompassing. Newborns need to eat round-the-clock, and typically have highly erratic sleep behaviors. During the course of the first year, the parents gain confidence, and the infant begins to regulate itself and gain a wide range of developmental skills. Sleep Routines for sleep vary depending upon parent preferences. Some parents are happy and willing to breastfeed or rock an infant to sleep regularly, while others value more independent sleep. Providing comfort during the transition to sleep helps the infant develop healthy attachment, so encouraging independent sleep is not appropriate in a young infant, under six to nine months. Increasingly, experts are recommending more gentle transitions to independent sleep, rather than the traditional suggestion to just leave an infant to cry. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) provides parents with a distinct and important set of recommendations regarding infant sleep. These recommendations are designed to prevent SIDS or sudden infant death syndrome. The causes of SIDS remain largely unknown; however, the following measures have been scientifically proven to reduce the risks: · Breastfeeding and immunization reduce the risk of SIDS and are recommended. · Infants should sleep on a firm, flat surface without soft bedding, including crib bumpers. · Infants should sleep in the parents’ room, in an infant-appropriate sleep space, like a crib. · Babies should always be placed to sleep on their backs, without positioners of any sort. Sleep and bedtime routines can help to smooth the transition for older infants, toddlers and preschoolers. Common routines include a bath, a final sna ...

1. 1.
The first five years of a child's life are crucial to their physical,
mental, social, and emotional development. Based on the
reading, discuss what are the most important things (give us
your top 3-5) for parents to do to promote healthy growth in all
areas of a child's development?
2.
Discuss various ways can parents promote self-regulation within
their children?
Effective parenting is essential to children’s growth and
development. Parenting young children is a challenging and
often isolating task, but good parenting is essential to the well-
being of children. In this lesson, students will explore
children’s growth, skillful parenting techniques, ways for
parents to access needed support, and how to monitor and
supervise media use for their school-age children.
Topics to be covered include:
· Techniques to help children aged 0- 5 years develop positive
relationships with family and peers.
· Parenting techniques that help children aged 0-5 years learn to
regulate their behavior and develop problem solving skills.
· Ways in which parents support children’s cognitive, physical,
social-emotional and language development during the first five
years of life.

2. CONTINUE
· Most parents bring their newborn home and feel utterly
overwhelmed--even parents who have done it before. Caring for
a new baby is all-encompassing. Newborns need to eat round-
the-clock, and typically have highly erratic sleep behaviors.
During the course of the first year, the parents gain confidence,
and the infant begins to regulate itself and gain a wide range of
developmental skills.
Sleep
Routines for sleep vary depending upon parent preferences.
Some parents are happy and willing to breastfeed or rock an
infant to sleep regularly, while others value more independent
sleep. Providing comfort during the transition to sleep helps the
infant develop healthy attachment, so encouraging independent
sleep is not appropriate in a young infant, under six to nine
months. Increasingly, experts are recommending more gentle
transitions to independent sleep, rather than the traditional
suggestion to just leave an infant to cry.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) provides parents
with a distinct and important set of recommendations regarding
infant sleep. These recommendations are designed to prevent
SIDS or sudden infant death syndrome. The causes of SIDS
remain largely unknown; however, the following measures have
been scientifically proven to reduce the risks:
· Breastfeeding and immunization reduce the risk of SIDS and
are recommended.
· Infants should sleep on a firm, flat surface without soft
bedding, including crib bumpers.

3. · Infants should sleep in the parents’ room, in an infant-
appropriate sleep space, like a crib.
· Babies should always be placed to sleep on their backs,
without positioners of any sort.
Sleep and bedtime routines can help to smooth the transition for
older infants, toddlers and preschoolers. Common routines
include a bath, a final snack, teeth brushing, and stories. Some
children may do best if a parent sits with them while they fall
asleep; however, this transition can be shortened over time.
Bottom of Form
Infant Care
Even as newborns, infants may express significantly different
preferences regarding movement, activity, light and physical
touch. Parents should, as much as is possible and safe, take
those preferences into account to keep the baby as content as
possible. Obviously, some things infants may dislike are
inevitable, including car seats and tummy time. For high-need
infants or those that settle less easily, babywearing, or carrying
the infant in baby carrier on the chest or back, as is age-
appropriate, can provide additional physical touch, and may
make daily tasks easier for the parents.
Other considerations include:
POSITIVE INTERACTIONS
AFFECTION AND COMMUNICATION
Attachment

4. Attachment is the bond between a child and caregiver or parent
that forms with sensitive and responsive parenting. This
connection develops during the infant stage. This bond helps the
infant understand relationships and forms the basis of future
relationships and trust. Parents develop attachment through
sensitivity when identifying the infant’s needs and responding
quickly and appropriately. Parents also develop secure
attachment by being positive and emotionally accepting of the
child, socially interacting with the child, and developing a
mutual relationship between the child and themselves.
Preschoolers’ levels of attachment will directly affect their
sense of self-esteem as well as their ability to adapt socially
with a group of their peers.
Parents who are struggling to meet the emotional and physical
needs of their infants should seek additional assistance and
support. A failure to develop bonds and attachment between
parent and child will cause ongoing difficulties for children. In
addition, healthy attachment to alternative caregivers is
important, so parents should carefully choose caregivers for
their children.
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THE IMPORTANCE OF PLAY‹
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· Play is an important interaction with infants and can help them
learn language, manipulate toys, be cooperative, and learn
social interaction skills. Play at the infant stage may involve the
handling of toys by the infant or the looking, pointing at, and
sharing of toys. It can also involve sensory play with objects of
texture. Songs, rhymes and simple games, like peek-a-boo help

5. to engage children.
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The Development of Language
Language development includes receptive and expressive
language. Receptive language is language that is heard and
understood. Expressive language is language that is spoken,
signed, or otherwise communicated. Both receptive and
expressive language development is critical, and the two types
of language development occur simultaneously for most
children.
The language development process includes:
· CRYING
·
EARLY COMMUNICATION
·
LANGUAGE MODELING
·
CONVERSATIONS
Language development begins from day one when the child
cries and learns that the parent will respond. Cries, even for
newborns, are distinct. Responsive parents will soon learn to
distinguish a tired cry from a hungry one; however, it is normal
for some infants to cry for no apparent reason. The cause may
be discomfort, overstimulation, or another reason. Crying is
most common in the early evening. Crying is not an attempt to
manipulate the parents, but rather the infant’s only way of

6. communicating physical or emotional needs, and should not be
ignored. Children need to learn that their needs will be met by
parents or other caregivers, from birth.
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The Emotional Development of Infants and Young Children
Emotional development in the first year of life involves an
infant developing the general emotional states that he or she is
born with (e.g., contentment, alertness, and distress) to the
specific emotions of joy, sadness, anger, and then fear (or
stranger anxiety) by the age of eight months in response to
situations that occur. While newborns have only the simplest
emotional states, within weeks they clearly display a wider
range of emotions, and become more expressive of those
emotions.
TEMPERAMENT
Emotionally responsive and reassuring parenting will help
children regulate their emotions. By the end of the first year,
the infant will show additional emotions (e.g., interest, surprise,
and disgust). Emotional expression is determined not only by
parenting, but also by the child’s temperament. The child’s
temperament is their own--many aspects of temperament are
inborn. Temperament includes two key aspects; reactivity or
how sensitive the child is to stimuli and self-regulation, or the
ability to calm and control oneself.
AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR
Children will demonstrate more aggressive behaviors between
the ages of one and three years. Aggressive behaviors, including
temper tantrums, are often the result of frustration for young

7. toddlers. They have relatively little ability to express their
emotions and needs, and limited control over their own lives.
These aggressive behaviors can occur due to hunger, fatigue, or
unexpected changes in routine or illness. Meeting the child’s
physical needs, providing responsive parenting, and maintaining
a stable routine can decrease tantrums and aggression. These
behaviors often decrease after the age of three, as children
become more capable of both self-regulation and effective
communication.
Knowledge Check
·
What are the elements of temperament?
Top of Form
o Reactivity and self-regulation
o Self-soothing and sensitivity
o Reactivity and sensitivity
o Routine and self-regulation
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ESTABLISHING RULES AND BOUNDARIES‹
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· Establishing a set of rules that are in line with the child’s
abilities will help establish routines and boundaries.
Understanding child development helps parents to recognize

8. age-appropriate behaviors and work to modify that behavior in
an appropriate way.
Parents will help the child develop appropriate social
interaction skills and behaviors through the use of reasoning
and explanations rather than harsh and controlling interactions
and punishment methods.
Transitions and Routines
A positive home environment with consistent daily routines,
rules, and consequences will help the child prepare for expected
situations during the day. Parents can also prepare children for
transitions to new activities or changes in daily routines by
announcing them a few minutes earlier to give the child time to
adjust. The amount of time needed for an advance warning will
depend upon the individual child’s needs. A close relationship
between parents and child will provide the parents with the
ability to know their child’s needs, and to manage their child’s
behavior more effectively.
Parents can also try to anticipate potential problems and have a
plan to help deal with potential issues like hunger, soiling of
clothing, boredom, and fatigue. It is important that parents deal
with conflict in a positive, consistent, and firm manner so the
child knows expectations.
Orientation (Brooks, 2013).
GLOBAL PERFORMANCE ORIENTATION
SPECIFIC LEARNING ORIENTATION
Facilitating Intellectual Development
Here are some strategies for facilitating intellectual

9. development in young children.
EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
In order for children to grow intellectually to their full
potential, they need to have a secure emotional and social
developmental foundation. Children who have developed an
attachment with their parent or caregiver feel emotionally
secure within their families, have healthy self-esteem, and
exhibit confidence in their abilities. These children will be more
prepared to see the world as a safe place to learn and explore.
Children who have not yet established this foundation or lack
confidence will need more positive support to help them along
their journey.
A parent can support their young child’s intellectual
development by exploring beginning academic skills like
reading, counting, color knowledge, drawing, coloring, and
other activities in a fun playful manner. These activities should
become part of daily life--and shouldn’t involve worksheets or
other concentrated activity. Instead, as parents read with the
child, they can point to letters or tell stories about the pictures
in a book. They can allow a toddler to help cook and talk about
the food, or talk about the colors of socks while they sort
laundry.
Reading to infants and young toddlers increases intellectual
skills, vocabulary skills, and emotional bonds especially when
the lap reading method is used. When the child sits or cuddles
on the parent’s lap, the close physical contact is soothing and
encourages emotional support. The child can also clearly see the
book’s words and pictures, become familiar with the format of
the book, understand how it is handled, and appreciate how the
parent reads from left to right. Reading with children teaches
them a variety of essential pre-reading skills.

10. Encouraging young children to count objects with you will help
them learn basic number concepts and prepare them for school.
Children learn best through play and fun activities. In the same
way, through play, conversation and daily living, children can
begin to learn about time, about how books work in terms of a
beginning, middle and end, about the letters and sounds of the
alphabet and much, much more.
The intellectual development of an infant, young toddler, or
preschool-age child develops through a combination of many
factors and exposure to activities we already discussed in this
section.
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· Here are some strategies for facilitating intellectual
development in young children.
Support for Parents
There are many books, magazines, courses, websites, and
usually family members, friends, or acquaintances available to
give advice to expectant parents. Typically, parents with a
strong social support system will adjust to parenthood more
easily--they have increased access to friends and family. Many
parents lack that support system, and some may find it
inadequate. Why is this job so challenging when the baby
arrives?
One of the possible answers to this question is that each child is
an individual with a different temperament, needs, physical
genetic makeup, and their home environment also has many
different variations. New parents may be worn down physically,

11. emotionally, and financially. Mothers are recovering from the
physical trauma of birth, whether natural or caesarian, and
parents’ marriages often struggle during the first year after a
baby’s birth.
They may not have a support network. An infant may have
needs that have to be identified or managed differently. These
factors may all take a negative toll on a parent’s belief in their
ability to care for their child. The care the child receives may
be significantly impacted by the parents’ belief in their own
abilities.
Parent Support Programs
Parental self-efficacy, or the belief a parent has doors