You spend your day working with, playing with, and watching children, and you are already familiar with many milestones--such as pointing at objects, smiling, and playing with others--that mark a child’s development. All children are unique, but sooner or later, you will see a child who is not developing as they should.

You are a valuable resource to parents! They look to you for information on their child, and they trust you. The “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” campaign has created a series of resources to help you educate parents on the full range of child development.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities has available a variety of resources available for early care and education programs to use with children and to share with parents.

The free “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” Child Care Provider Resource Kit includes a CD-ROM with fact sheets on child development that you can print out, along with three growth charts, three small posters, and 50 flyers for parents.

The CD-ROM contains fact sheets on: developmental milestones from 3 months to 5 years; developmental disabilities, including autism, ADHD, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, vision loss, and hearing loss, and developmental screening. It also includes milestones checklists you can print out and share with parents as well as tips for talking to them about child development.

Additional resources include Tips for Talking to Parents, a growth chart, a fact sheet of resources, a small poster, and a flyer. Also available is a print ad that can be included in your program’s newsletter that encourages parents to learn more about child development.

You can also order additional flyers to share with parents; 50 flyers come in the Child Care Provider Resource Kit and 100 flyers are in the Outreach Resource Kit.

An interactive chart, which is available on the Campaign’s website, is a great way to show parents how children develop. Consider mentioning this interactive tool in your parent newsletter or book marking it on a parent resource computer at your center.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, 1600 Clifton Rd, Atlanta, GA 30333; 800-CDC-INFO; www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/actearly/ccp/campaignresources.html