The environments infants and toddlers encounter, the relationships they form, and the activities they engage in before age 3—both inside the home and out—are key to healthy and positive growth, development and learning outcomes that can last a lifetime.
The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) strongly recommends continuity of care (COC) for infants and toddlers. This means that these young children will have their care provided by a consistent group of caregivers for at least two to three years. This allows them to feel secure and helps them to thrive, which means they can learn to trust and engage with caregivers and other young children outside of their family — a key step of socialization.
This resource also notes the importance of helping infants to develop a sense of humor. Just like older children and adults, infants will have unique ideas about what is especially funny — and infant care professionals will discover what silly things make an infant laugh, and then repeat them and try out other similar activities. It can be as simple as the caregiver putting on a funny hat or making silly faces.
At See Us Grow, your baby can learn to explore different textures in a safe environment. This can be the nub of a rug or the smooth feeling of a door. As your infant touches different items and feels ones that are both alike and different, they receive more cues about their world.
Finding the Right Childcare and Learning Center Some tips on choosing the right center for your baby include:
Asking about safety: How does the child care center create and maintain a safe environment?
Neat and clean environment: Cleanliness is more important now than ever before, and you’ll also want to choose a tidy center that gives your infant space to safely explore.
Engaging caregivers: They will be playing a key role in helping your baby to grow, develop and thrive, so spend time with them. How do they interact with you? When you observe them with another infant, how well do they engage?
Licensing and accreditation: be sure to ask about these credentials for the center you choose.
See Us Grow: Infant Care
At See Us Grow, we recognize how important infant child care is to create an important foundation for your child’s growth. At our centers, we are your baby’s home away from home, where their –and your- preferred sleep and feeding schedule is upheld as our standard. We know your needs will evolve and change, so we offer a drop-in option, and we are here to make each transition in this stage of your child’s life smooth and easy for you.
We offer a creative curriculum and engaging experiences provided by experienced teachers in a sensory-rich environment that includes developmentally appropriate toys.