Healthy Development
The early years of a child’s health and development provide an essential foundation for their future years. Offering healthy opportunities for children to grow up where their social, emotional, and educational needs are met can significantly impact their development.
Parenting takes many different forms. Here are a few key ways that parents can support their child’s healthy development:
- Teaching children routines and boundaries that are developmentally appropriate for their own needs
- Allowing nutritional food to be accessible for brain and body development
- Providing a physically and emotionally safe environment for children
- Sharing quality time with children doing an activity that they enjoy
- Setting good sleep habits and offering daily opportunities for physical activity that meets a child’s specific needs
While this is not a comprehensive list, it does offer a general parents’ perspective on promoting child wellness. New Hampshire’s network of Family Resource Centers offers many opportunities to learn about parenting and to give young children developmental experiences. In addition, our Lending Library has hundreds of books on parenting, navigating specific early childhood issues, and diagnosis. You’ll find these and more resources below to support your family’s journey.
Developmental Milestones
Are you curious or concerned about your child’s development? Developmental Milestones include smiling for the first time, waving “bye-bye,” or taking first steps. Each set of milestones varies with age, but children generally reach milestones in how they grow, play, learn, speak, act, and move.
Children develop at their own pace, so it’s hard to say exactly when they will learn a specific skill. However, developmental milestone guides and checklists give a general idea of the changes, skills, and growth to expect as your child ages.
As a parent, you know your child best. If your child is not meeting the milestones for their age, talk with your child’s doctor and share your concerns. Don’t wait.
Click the button to explore tools for monitoring and supporting your child’s development and what steps to take if you have concerns.
Early Childhood Learning & Care Resources
PIC Family Voices Podcast Episode 18: Summer Learning Options for Families
Explore diverse summer learning options for families, emphasizing flexibility, engagement, and fun. Joanne Grobecker shares practical tips on choosing activities,…
Pass It On: Spring/Summer 2026 Edition
Inside this issue: tips for helping children transition from daycare to kindergarten, kid-approved ideas to prevent the “summer slide,” accessible…
PIC Family Voices Podcast Episode 13: The Importance of Developmental Screenings
In this episode PIC and NH Family Voices speak to Meagan Galvin, a family worker with Head Start Center at…
PIC Family Voices Podcast Episode 11: Physical Development in Early Childhood
In this episode, pediatric physical therapist Jeff Elrick breaks down how movement helps young children grow—not just physically, but in…
PIC Family Voices Podcast Episode 10: From Classrooms to Care Centers: How Developmental Screening Shapes Early Childhood
In this episode we talk about developmental screening and how looks across various early childhood settings. Screening is an important step…
PIC Family Voices Podcast Episode 6: Social Emotional Development in the Early Year
In this conversation, Ellen Schreiber, a licensed mental health clinician, discusses the critical concepts of attachment, self-regulation, and co-regulation in…
PIC Family Voices Podcast Episode 2: Growing Minds: Understanding Cognitive Development
In this conversation, Dr. Kimberly Nesbitt discusses the critical aspects of cognitive development in early childhood, emphasizing the importance of…
Choosing Child Care for Children with Special Needs
If you have a child with a developmental disability or other special needs, it can be daunting to think about…
Resources for Early Childhood Learning
Healthy Families New Hampshire Healthy Families New Hampshire has trained family support specialists and nurses who visit families in their…
Child Care Resources
NH Child Care Scholarship NH DHHS 129 Pleasant St., Concord Telephone: (603) 271-4242 / TDD: (800) 735-2964 Website: https://www.nh-connections.org/families/child-care-scholarship/ NH…
Head Start and Early Head Start
Head Start is a Federal program that promotes the school readiness of children from ages three to five from low-income…
Resource Categories
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Explore Early Childhood Books in our Lending Library
Tackling the Tough Stuff: A Home Visitor’s Guide to Supporting Families at Risk
Now more than ever, today’s at-risk families need home visitors who can address their complex challenges with skill and sensitivity….
Declarative Language Handbook: Using a Thoughtful Language Style to Help Kids with Social Learning Challenges Feel Competent, Connected, and Understood
Do you know a child that gets upset when their routine changes? They might also struggle to see the big…
Poppy and the Overactive Amygdala
Many kids suffer from an overactive “Fight or Flight” response, which can affect them in all areas of their lives….
The Special Needs Potty Training Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide for Parents
Is potty training your child with autism, sensory processing differences, or other special needs causing you stress and frustration? You’re…
Little Voices: Assess, Assist, and Advance Your Child’s Early Speech
Imagine this: your child struggles to speak, managing only the first syllables of words. Each day, communicating feels like a…
You Are Not Alone for Parents and Caregivers
In You Are Not Alone for Parents and Caregivers, child psychiatrist and NAMI’s Associate Medical Director Dr. Christine M. Crawford provides…
Belly Breathe
A colorful board book that teaches kids how to take big breaths from their bellies to help calm or soothe…
Loving Harder
This is the true story of the Hetzel family and their struggles with their adoptive daughter, Nadya. While living in…
My First Book of Baby Signs
This storybook style guide will help you teach your baby 40 signs to help them communicate common words. This book…
Train Your Dragon to Focus
It can be hard to focus, especially when other things surround you. In this book, Drew gives the reader tips…
Gorilla Thumps and Bear Hugs
Annabel dreams of one day being a scientist, but teasing from other kids at school has hurt her confidence and…
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Therapy Providers
Your True Self Occupational Therapy
At Your True Self, we seek to truly understand each client, their motivations, and how we can foster the growth…
A.B.A. Behavioral Consulting
Our mission is to provide the highest level of clinical services to individuals with varying levels of disabling conditions and…
Achieving Stars Therapy
In-Home ABA Therapy Across Colorado, Kansas, Ohio, New Hampshire, and New Jersey At Achieving Stars Therapy, we deliver personalized, BCBA-supervised…
ASPIRE Learning and Living
ASPIRE Learning and Living serves children and adults with autism and other behavioral challenges from its office in Concord. The…
Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) Resources
Community Partners Spectrum Connection Located in Dover, NH, and servicing Strafford County Residents, Community Partners Spectrum Connection provides fee-for-service intervention…
Pediatric Therapy
Occupational Therapy [OT], Physical Therapy [PT], Speech and Language Therapy, Feeding Therapy, and Other Services Adaptive Pediatric Therapy, LLC Portsmouth,…
Connor’s Law
Connor’s Law is a bill that has been passed in the state of New Hampshire. It mandates insurance companies to…
Pediatric Therapy Center
Pediatric Therapy Center offers Speech and Language, Occupational and Physical Therapy, Feeding Therapy, Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Evaluations, Sensory…
Literacy Learning Solutions LLC
Literacy Learning Solutions LLC, located in Nashua, NH, offers tutoring services for individuals with special educational needs, particularly students with…
A.B.A. Behavioral Consulting
Based in Londonderry, NH A.B.A. Behavioral Consulting provides the highest level of clinical services to adults with varying levels of…
CARD – Center for Autism and Related Disorders
The CARD program includes comprehensive and cutting-edge curricula that can be tailored to the specific needs of individuals from birth…
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Looking for Support at Home and in Your Community?
Click the button to find basic supports for families and young children, such as housing, food and nutrition programs, and recreation.