Life Skills Guide - Caring for Newborns and Children under 5 Years

National experts have identified 10 research based components that are essential to high quality child care. Use the 10 components as a guide,

This is a network of over 67​,000 pediatricians committed to the optimal physical, mental, and social health and well-being for all infants, children, adolescents, and young adults.

The resources below can help you protect and promote your child's health by increasing your knowledge of children's health issues, providing assistance on partnering with health care providers, and linking you to helpful organizations and tools. ​Consistent with the Bright Futures Guidelines, tips are written in plain language for parents of children and teens of all ages to help prepare them for their well-child visits. Their tip sheet is available in English and Spanish.

The mission of the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading (CGLR) "is to disrupt the generational cycle of poverty by improving the prospects for early school success for children growing up in economically challenged, fragile and otherwise marginalized families."

Missouri: Child Development and Early Learning Resources
Learn how to support your child’s healthy growth and development. Find developmental screening services for your child, and view helpful parenting tips and resources. Includes:
* Developmental Milestones
* Developmental Screenings: Ages and Stages Questionnaire
* Missouri Developmental Monitoring and Screening Information
* Understanding Your Child’s Development

Founded in 1999, Child Care Aware of Missouri is dedicated to impacting the first two-thousand days of a child’s life by supporting those who care for them, ensuring every child has a strong foundation for lifelong success. Driven by their values they create lasting change through advocacy, education, and community partnerships to provide equitable, high-quality early childhood experiences for all Missouri children.

Research shows that how babies are cared for influences their entire lives in profound ways. Resources for Infant Educarers (RIE) has helped thousands of parents and caregivers, in a wide variety of settings, foster the early attachments infants and toddlers need to carry them through life.

Includes tools and resources regarding how effective communication helps build the relationships and systems Head Start programs need for high-quality programming and continuous improvement.

Includes an interactive "My Health finder Tool" where you can enter your age, etc., and click "Get Results". It will show specific results based on the information you entered, such as "Here are important ways for a woman age 45 (for instance) to stay healthy: Schedule these screenings, Talk to your doctor, Ask your Doctor", and much more.

From the American Academy of Pediatricians (AAP), this is their "AAP Parenting Website". Includes information about: Ages & Stages, Healthy Living, Safety & Prevention, Family Life, Health Issues, News, and Tips & Tools.

From the National Institutes of Health - Healthy pregnancies. Healthy children. Healthy and optimal lives., this site includes links to websites of groups that study or provide information about infant care and infant health.

Everything for kids, teens, & families in St. Louis & the surrounding communities. Includes lists of camps, activities, museums, special needs resources, seasonal events, free holiday events, and much more.

The toddler years can be magical years. From first words to walking, years ages 1 - 3 are packed with major milestones. But the toddler years come with their share of frustrations, too. Toddlers can swing from being adorable to throwing a temper tantrum in the blink of an eye. Solid advice from trusted experts helps. With more than 800 physicians and advanced practice providers, two children's hospitals, three pediatric ERs, pediatric clinics, convenient care locations and virtual care options, Mercy makes it easy to get the care your child needs close to home.

Get parenting tips for toddlers from Mercy Kids. Their free guide (downloadable) gives you tips on toddler care at every age and stage. Get information on:

Monitoring milestones
Developing healthy eating habits
Dealing with picky eating
Potty training
Handling tantrums
Transitioning to day care
Identifying early signs of autism spectrum disorder

Missouri’s agencies are working together to prepare every child for success in school and in life. Their vision is to ensure children are safe, healthy and successful learners, reaching their full potential.
Early Connections is a central place for families and professionals to access resources and information about what young children need from the Early Care & Education (ECE) system. They help families provide safe environments for their children, engage families in their children’s health and development and bring services for children and families together across the state. Early Connections is here to help you:

Find child care options.

Find family supports.

Learn about child development.

Access training.

Learn how to get involved in the Early Care & Education (ECE) System

This site includes general literacy tips, information about the importance of the first five years of life and brain development, award -winning book lists, and many other children's literacy resources.

Nine has focused our efforts on ensuring the more than half a million children in our area who are out of school have the resources they need. In response, Nine created the Nine PBS Educator and Caregiver Toolkit, a collection of free, readily available trusted resources for our region’s educators, caregivers, and parents.

For parents and caregivers of a baby or toddler. It includes: Diseases and Conditions, Safety in the Home and Community, Raising Healthy Children, Milestones and Schedules, and a Milestone Tracker app.

Their mission: To promote the optimal early development, learning and health of children by supporting and engaging their parents and caregivers.

Offers information, activities, and tips for parents of children ages 2-8.

A resource for educators to find standards-aligned videos, interactives, lesson plans, and more. Resources cover a variety of subjects and are for kindergarten through 12th grade students.

Reading Rockets is a national public media literacy initiative providing information and resources on how young kids learn to read, why so many struggle, and how caring adults can help.

With more than 30 SSM Health Cardinal Glennon or affiliated pediatric physician locations, they are here for your family when and where you need them – close to home! They have some of the best pediatric experts in the St. Louis region. Their specially-trained physicians, nurses, and staff are located at hospitals, emergency rooms, specialty clinics, and offices around the St. Louis area and beyond.

Learn skills to help you talk with children, teens/adolescents and young adults about navigating safely while online. THORN strives to build a safer world for kids by creating products and programs that combat child sexual abuse and exploitation. Talking early and often about online risks can help both kids and adults take control of digital safety. Thorn for Parents is full of resources and skill-building exercises to help adults lead empowering and judgment-free conversations. NoFiltr is their peer-to-peer prevention program that helps teens learn about how to protect themselves from online threats

A list of the best K-12 educational videos freely available on the internet. Created and maintained by educators who can store, categorize, and rate the videos. Includes Internet Safety for Kids.

A free collection of the best online learning experiences for kids curated by the editors at Common Sense. Resources for students in Pre-K through 12th grade. Includes Internet safety tips.

This website contains tips and information about caring for newborns and children under 5 years, including: Caring for a newborn, keeping newborns and children under 5 years clean and safe, feeding an infant or young child, engaging and having fun with newborns and children under 5 years, making sure newborns and children under 5 years sleep safely, and getting the health services you need.

At the Y, they believe reading is an important part of growth and development. They want to ensure that youth have access to reading resources both in and out of school.

Founded in 1977, their mission is to ensure that all babies and toddlers have a strong start in life. At ZERO TO THREE, they envision a society that has the knowledge and will to support all infants and toddlers in reaching their full potential.