Helping Your Child Grow and Develop

Every child learns and grows at their own pace, and you support their development with every interaction. Monitoring development patterns can help you understand if your child is on track or might need supports.

Here you’ll find resources for pregnant and new parents to better understand your child’s development and growth.

You can support the well-being and lifelong growth of your child with resources from Help Me Grow Kansas.

Birth to age 5 is the optimal time to identify your child’s strengths and any areas where they may need support. Be an informed advocate by learning about healthy growth and tracking.

  • Check out healthy development and screening resources from the Center for Disease Control—like age-specific checklists and milestone trackers and Learn the Signs. Act Early.
  • Early intervention services across the state offer help for infants and toddlers with disabilities from birth to age three and their families.
  • Find a Kansas Head Start/Early Head Start program near you. Head Start emphasizes not only a child’s physical and cognitive development but also formation of life skills with a very strong parent involvement component. Early Head Start serves pregnant women, infants and toddlers. Services for both programs are provided in a variety of settings including centers, family child care, and home visits.
  • The Kansas Department of Health and Environment provides specialized medical services to infants, children, and youth up to age 21 who have eligible medical conditions.
  • If you have a specific concern about your child’s development, contact 1-800-CHILDREN for suggestions and referrals.

Build healthy relationships to support your child’s growth. Babies and young children learn best through serve and return interactions. This back-and-forth helps their brains develop. Spend time playing, talking, and listening to your child—it’s essential for their growth!

Both the Kansas Association for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment offer mental and behavioral health resources to support you and your child’s journey.

Example of serve and return

Universal Home Visiting is a supportive program for prenatal through postpartum families with infants up to 12 months. Every Kansas family can receive up to three visits through this free program.

Registered nurses and community liaisons provide education and family support through home and office visits and can cover such topics as:

  • Basic baby care
  • Family planning
  • Breastfeeding
  • Infant growth/development
  • Labor and delivery
  • Preterm labor signs/symptoms
  • Safe sleep
Southwest Region Care & Wellness Conference

Join us in Garden City on May 6th for a free conference for: families with young children, early childhood care providers, and mental health professionals.

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Northwest Region Care & Wellness Conference

Join us in Hays on May 8th for a free conference for: families with young children, early childhood care providers, and mental health professionals.

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1-800-Children

Call 1-800-CHILDREN
(1-800-332-6378)

Text or email
1800CHILDREN@kcsl.org

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Find helpful 24/7 support and resources on all things parent and child related. Connect with a real person for your free and confidential call today. We offer support in English and Spanish as well as other languages.