News

February 17, 2022

CDC Updates Developmental Milestones for Young Children

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) have revised developmental milestones for infants and young children in the Learn the Signs. Act Early. program, which helps parents identify autism and developmental delays in their children.

Learn More

According to a news release distributed by the CDC and the AAP, the previous developmental milestone checklists used 50th percentile, or average-age, milestones. Using this approach meant only half of children could be expected to achieve that milestone by that age. Thus, clinicians and families with concerns would at times choose a wait-and-see approach, leading to a delay in diagnosis.

The revised developmental milestones identify the behaviors that 75% or more of children can be expected to exhibit at a certain age based on data, developmental resources, and clinician experience.

Updates

Changes to the guidance include:

  • Adding checklists for ages 15 and 30 months; now there is a checklist for every well-child visit from two months to five years.

  • Identifying additional social and emotional milestones (e.g., Smiles on their own to get your attention, age four months).

  • Removing vague language like “may” or “begins” when referring to certain milestones.

  • Removing duplicate milestones.

  • Providing new, open-ended questions to use in discussion with families (e.g., Is there anything that your child does or does not do that concerns you?).

  • Revising and expanding tips and activities for developmental promotion and early relational health.

More Information

The process behind the revised milestones is detailed in an article titled “Evidence-Informed Milestones for Developmental Surveillance Tools” published in Pediatrics. Full resources and checklists are available on the CDC’s Learn the Signs. Act Early. page.

News

May 7, 2020

Keeping Our Children Well During COVID-19

Join former American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) president, Colleen Kraft, MD, FAAP, for a discussion on how early care and education (ECE) providers can support families’ medical care during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

About

ECE programs can support families’ access to needed medical care. The AAP recommends children under 24 months maintain their Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment (EPSDT) immunization schedule to prevent the breakout of communicable diseases. Many pediatricians are conducting well-child visits through telehealth appointments. However, families may be struggling to access these services. To learn how ECE providers can support families’ medical care during the pandemic, register to attend this webinar.

Registration

To register, visit the event webpage. The registration link can be used for both the live event and on-demand viewing. The recording will be available to watch on-demand starting 30 minutes after the live event ends, until May 31, 2020. Because access to the live event is limited and the session may be full, event hosts recommend watching the webinar on-demand.

A version with English closed captions will also be posted on the Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center (ECLKC) in the future.

News

May 5, 2020

Caring for Children in Group Settings During COVID-19

Do you have questions on how to keep children and staff healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic? Join the National Center on Early Childhood Health and Wellness (NCECHW) on May 6 for their webinar, “Caring for Children in Group Settings During COVID-19: A Follow-up Conversation.”

About

Early childhood education (ECE) programs have many questions about how to keep children and staff healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Guidance for open programs is now available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics. This question-and-answer chat is a follow-up to the webcast Caring for Children in Group Settings During COVID-19 to add guidance from pediatric infectious disease expert, Michele Cheung MD, FAAP.

Registration

To register, visit the event webpage. The registration link can be used for both the live event and on-demand viewing. The recording will be available to watch on-demand starting 30 minutes after the live event ends, until May 31, 2020. Because access to the live event is limited and the session may be full, the hosts recommend watching the webinar on-demand.

A version with English closed captions will also be posted on the Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center (ECLKC) website in the future.

*Information provided by NCECHW

News

November 19, 2018

2018 Child Passenger Safety Recommendations

Motor vehicle crashes remain the leading cause of death for children four years and older. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) updated the Child Passenger Safety policy statement and technical report based on new evidence gathered over the past 10 years. The documents will be published in the November issue of Pediatrics. The updated guidance advises children to ride rear-facing as long as possible. Two years of age is no longer a specific age criterion when a child changes from a rear- to a forward-facing car safety seat.
View the AAP New article.

Recommendations

Angela Osterhuber, Ed.M., Director, PA Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics, PA Traffic Injury Prevention Project (TIPP) offers this advice:

  • Secure infants and toddlers in a rear-facing car seat until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by the manufacturer of the car seat. In Pennsylvania, children younger than two years must be secured in a rear-facing car seat.
  • Never place a rear-facing car seat in the front seat that has an active passenger-side front airbag. If the airbag inflates, it will hit the back of the car seat, right where the baby’s headrests, and could cause serious injury or death.
  • Traveling rear-facing is safer than forward-facing.
  • Call TIPP at 800/CAR-BELT x24 (in PA) for help with questions about the new recommendations.

Additional Tips

Car seats must be used correctly to properly protect your child in a crash. The AAP’s parent magazine, HealthyChildren.org, has an article titled Car Seat Checkup with other car seat tips for families, such as:

Information provided by NAEYC.