Brain Development
Helpful links and information about important milestones in early childhood development and how to support growing children as they begin to interact with and learn about the world around them.
Brain Development in the Early Years
The human brain goes through an enormous amount of growth and development during the first few years of life.
The links below provide basic information about brain development in infants and toddlers, with a focus on what parents and caregivers can do to support children's development and future learning.
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In Brief: The Science of Early Childhood Development - Centre for the Developing Child, Harvard UniversityA user-friendly introduction to the basics of brain development in infants and young children.
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Baby Brain Map - National Centre for Infants, Families, and ToddlersA user-friendly interactive map of a young brain. You can click on the image to learn more about the roles of different parts of the brain.
- This video is a very useful introduction to the basics of early childhood development and the supports that caregivers should offer to children.
Early Childhood Milestones
The sites below provide basic information about the different general developmental milestones of early childhood. Knowing a bit about these milestones is helpful for figuring out the kinds of supports that infants and pre-schoolers need - including early literacy supports.
As with all milestones for child development, these are a guideline only. Each child and their development is unique.
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Developmental Milestones - Centre for Disease ControlUser-friendly information about developmental milestones broken down by age from 2 months to 5 years
