The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is a national authority and resource on early childhood education. The NAEYC website provides a variety of informational articles that can be reproduced and used as handouts for parents. Teachers can browse the site and look for brief articles under the section for Families. Look for fact sheets on specific topics such as young children and biting or early literacy. Before reproducing any online article make sure to check the copyright laws. Most NAEYC articles may be reprinted with permission and proper credit given.
General development fact sheets may be useful to parents in many ways. A well researched child development handout can help parents to better understand their child's growing abilities and even look for problems or issues that may arise. Educators can start with a general breakdown of developmental domains (cognitive, social, emotional, physical). Make sure to tailor the developmental stage to the specific child or classroom age, while including information on upcoming stages. This will give parents an idea of what to expect. Include important milestones and reference authoritative sources such as the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Many parents become concerned that their child is not developing in a typical pattern. With intense media coverage of autism spectrum disorders, ADHD and other behavioral issues, parents are often left feeling confused and wondering if their child is on the right track. What may be a normal behavior for the child's developmental stage may sometimes appear as a troublesome problem. Early childhood educators can prepare basic fact sheet handouts for parents on common delays and disorders, what to look for and what to do if they suspect a problem. Additionally, information on the school's early intervention policies and important phone numbers for child development agencies or medical professionals should be included.
Parents can help to foster positive development at home by providing a variety of developmentally appropriate activities. Instead of leaving parents to fend for themselves or seek out resource books, educators can prepare a few different handouts that include activities that will bolster child development. Draft handouts that feature activities or lessons that connect to different developmental domains such as cognitive, social, emotional or physical development. Include a step-by-step guide of how to do the activity along with the ways in which the activity will help aid in the child's development.