The Benefits of Reading to Children

Parents are often told to read aloud to their young children, and most people would say that they understand that children benefit from being routinely read to. While parents are often recommended to do certain things to benefit their children, not many people can explain how reading benefits them. Now, for the first time, a ...

24 Feb · Lauren Till · No Comments

New Bill Intends to Expand and Improve Child Care

Members of congress have joined toddler and infant advocates on the importance of the investment in high-quality early child care. Senator Casey and Representatives Crowley and Frankel have just introduced The Child Care Access to Resources for Early-learning Act (Child C.A.R.E. Act), a bill that will ensure that all low-income families with infants and toddlers ...

17 Feb · Lauren Till · No Comments

How to Spot and Stop Bullying

According to stopbullying.gov, bullying is unwanted or aggressive behavior that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. When a child is being bullied, it normally means peers are intentionally causing harm. 160,000 children skip school every day because they fear being attacked or intimidated by other students. Bullying can start at a very young age ...

10 Feb · Lauren Till · No Comments

Alabama Quality STARS Rolling Out Statewide

The Alabama Department of Human Resources (DHR) has begun implementation of the Alabama Quality STARS Rating and Improvement System for child care. The Alabama Quality STARS is a five star building block system which rates the quality of child care centers that are above the minimum licensing requirements. The University of Alabama and DHR uses ...

3 Feb · Lauren Till · No Comments

HMG Staff Spotlight: Jackie Navidad

Jackie Navidad joined the Alabama Partnership for Children (APC) in January as Help Me Grow Alabama Professional Development Coordinator. She is a native of Peru and she is fluent in Spanish. She and her family immigrated to the United States in 1976 and resided in New Jersey. Her husband is a native of El Salvador ...

30 Dec · Lauren Till · No Comments

Give to Help Me Grow

Are you looking to make your year-end contribution to a program that serves children and families in ways that impact lifelong success? Consider giving to Help Me Grow Alabama! Follow this link to DONATE NOW. If you choose to give online via Pay Pal, indicate “Help Me Grow Alabama” as part of instructions for the …

28 Oct · Lauren Till · No Comments

Considering Your Child’s Development

Are you wondering if your child’s development is on track? You should contact Help Me Grow! To get an idea of some of the developmental milestones we’ll be looking for, here are some typical indicators of healthy child development from Family Education: Age 0-6 Months – A lot happens during your baby’s first months. Your …

2 Feb · Lauren Till · No Comments

On PBS Tonight!

TONIGHT at 10pm Eastern Time, watch the second episode of the PBS Independent Lens series, A Path Appears. Journalist Nicholas Kristof joins actress and early childhood advocate Jennifer Garner as she returns to her native West Virginia to visit families enrolled in Save the Children’s Early Steps home visiting program. The documentary introduces us to …