To become a healthy, happy adult, every child needs:
- Interaction - Consistent, long-term attention from caring adults.
- Touch - Holding and cuddling does more than merely comfort children, it also helps their brains grow.
- Environment - A safe, healthy living and growing environment is vital. It should be free of lead, loud noises, sharp objects, unclean areas, and other hazards.
- Communication - Talking with your child builds verbal skills needed to succeed in school and life. It also helps children learn to relay their feelings of anger, jealousy, and frustration to adults.
- Relationships - A stable relationship with parents and other caregivers buffer stress from children.
- Self-Esteem - With respect, encouragement, and positive role models from the very beginning. Children can develop wonderful self-esteem that will assist them in life forever.
- Quality Care - When you cannot be with your child, quality care from a trained professional can make all the difference in the world.
- Play - Helps your child explore his/her senses and discover how the world works. Playing with others help children learn to share and be part of a team; it also stimulates creative thinking.
- Reading - To your child from the very beginning (even while still in the womb) will show the importance of reading and creates a lifelong love of books and the written word.
- Music - Expands your children's world and teaches them to sing songs and play instruments. It also helps develop their logistical skills and usually enhances their science and math learning.
