Program

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The earliest years are all about relationships. Infants and toddlers crave and develop attachments to the special people in their lives. Depending on how parents, early childhood educators, and others treat them, babies also develop expectations about people and themselves.

• Young infants (0 to 9 months) seek security.
• Mobile infants (8 to 18 months) are eager to explore.
• Toddlers (16 to 36 months) are working on their identity; they want to know who they are and who’s in charge.

The first years of life are critical for later outcomes. 

Young children have an innate desire to learn. That desire can be supported or undermined by early experiences. High-quality early childhood education can promote intellectual, language, physical, social, and emotional development, creating school readiness and building a foundation for later academic and social competence.