Resources

Child Care

Why Choosing Quality Child Care Matters

Choosing child care is an important decision. Good child care arrangements can improve the daily lives of children and parents. In addition, children in high quality care have higher levels of success when they enter school. Yet, it can be difficult and confusing to know what to look for in a program. What exactly is quality child care? "The Daily Parent," a newsletter for working parents from "Child Care Aware" has recommendations of what to look for when choosing a childcare setting for your child.

Child Care Information

Child Care Arrangements - Florida Provider Search

Child Safety

Child Safety Alert: Shaken Baby Syndrome

Shaken baby syndrome is a severe form of head injury that occurs when a baby is shaken forcibly enough to cause the baby's brain to rebound (bounce) against his or her skull. This rebounding may cause bruising, swelling, and bleeding (intracerebral hemorrhage) of the brain, which may lead to permanent, severe brain damage or death.

Education

Education in Florida - Sunshine State Standards

The Sunshine State Standards were approved by the State Board of Education in 1996 to provide expectations for student achievement in Florida. The Standards approved in 1996 were written in seven subject areas, each divided into four separate grade clusters (PreK-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12). This format was chosen to provide flexibility to school districts in designing curriculum based on local needs.

Literacy

Read To Learn

Governor Bush believes that reading is the most powerful skill a child can learn, as it influences success in school and improves the overall quality of life. The unequivocal goal is for all students in Florida to be able to read on grade level or higher throughout their school years by 2012.

Parenting Tips

When your baby cries (Book)

Crying is normal for your baby. It is, after all, the only way she has of letting you know what her needs are. By learning what different cries mean, you can respond and comfort her promptly, helping her feel safe and secure. Learning how to interpret her cries will help you respond effectively: go to her promptly whenever she cries. During her first few months you cannot spoil a young baby by giving her attention, and if you answer her call for help, she will cry less in general.

Sunrise Skill Builders

Parents: You are your child's first teacher. Helpful parental tips to raise your newborn until they reach school age.

The No-Cry Discipline

Speech & Language

Speech and Language: Developmental Milestones

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

SIDS Fact Sheet

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is the diagnosis given for the sudden death of an infant under one year of age that remains unexplained after a complete investigation, which includes an autopsy, examination of the death scene, and review of the symptoms or illnesses the infant had prior to dying and any other pertinent medical history. Because most cases of SIDS occur when a baby is sleeping in a crib, SIDS is also commonly known as crib death.

Babies Sleep Safest on Their Backs: Reduce the Risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

One of the easiest ways to lower the risk of SIDS is to put your baby on his or her back to sleep, even for naps. This is new advice. Until a few years ago, doctors told mothers to place babies on their stomachs to sleep. Research now shows that fewer babies die of SIDS when they sleep on their backs.