Each stage of life encourages all of us to learn skills and adapt to our surroundings. Teens finish high school and make plans for the next big adventure, whether it is college, trade school, or entry into the world of work. These milestones in the life of an emerging young adult are just the beginning of their dreams for a bright future. Parents with emerging adults in the home must navigate a household where more than one or two adults now reside.

The emerging adult is likely to want more freedom and may even explore moving out and getting their own place to live. This independence is part of the natural progression of growth and development. Financial independence from their parents is just one goal forward for many emerging adults.

Strategies for living with emerging young adults include:

• Renegotiating the roles, instead of “always being the parent”, now as both adults, you must learn to co-exist.
• Helping your emerging adult take on more responsibility and leaving the door open for the big discussions that may need to happen as they begin making more decisions.
• Practice ACCEPTANCE, your child is likely to do some things like you do and other times will not.
• As the parent of a child who has left the nest, be sure to find time to do some things you once enjoyed! Now is the time to celebrate both the grown adult children you raised and the newfound time you have to enjoy your own life journey.

The milestones that make up healthy growth and development of children are used by parents, health professionals, and early childhood experts as guidance for what to expect as children grow. No two children will experience the same growth pattern. Each of us grows in our own timing, however, the milestones help us to prepare for what may be around the corner!

The pre-teen years can leave parents with many questions about navigating the emerging physical and emotional changes with their child. While desiring to have more independence, a pre-teen may seek more time with their peers than with their family. They may also be listening more to their peers, so making sure the peers that surround your child are ones you trust and who have similar values and interests as your child is important.

The pre-teen years are time for honest, open conversation about family values and expectations for behavior in school, home, and with friends. Discussion about sensitive issues related to growing sexuality, alcohol or drug use is important to have early and regularly so that your child knows the boundaries and can have honest conversations with you.

Showing respect for your pre-teen and taking an interest in their school and extra-curricular activities will help parents continue to stay engaged with their teen. Talk about the future with your teen. Talking about the hopes and dreams you have for your teen will help them explore their own hopes and dreams. Helping teens set goals for the dreams they want to accomplish is another strategy to stay connected and engaged with your teen.

The Science of Parenting Website is full of resources developed by Dr. Kim Greder! We hope you will explore the information on understanding your teens physical changes and emotional changes too.  

While recording Season 5 on children’s milestones, I couldn’t help but think about all the parents who listen in and say, “but what if they aren’t?” or “but what if my child never will?” These are hard questions for a parenting educator to answer. As the parent of a child with special needs, I also recognize how difficult it is to be brave enough to ask these questions: the wondering, the worry, the self-doubt, and even the self-shame. I wanted you to hear us say, “We hear you. We see you in the back. We acknowledge that you have questions too”. While every child’s ability is different, and every child’s temperament is different, so are specific diagnoses and conditions. We hope that our short message here gives you the sense that your child is amazing no matter when they reach their milestones (or even if they never will). We want you to know that your parenting journey will need a set of special tools. Most of all, we want you to know that there is more than one way to raise great kids, and you have us to lean on.

Children with Special Health Care Needs (iowa.gov)

Family and Educator Partnership (FEP) | Iowa Department of Education (educateiowa.gov)

Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) – Home Page

Now that the kids are in school full time, we may really notice how they begin to manage their continuing gross motor skills, emotional management, and budding friendships with classmates.

Have the kids in the neighborhood been riding bikes? Or have the children expressed an interest in some of the formal team sports like soccer or softball or baseball? These types of activities help a child to fine-tune their ever-increasing gross motor skills. Parents can often be heard encouraging children to “get outside and play.” The outdoor environment is full of opportunities for children to learn tasks for growth and development. 

As children’s cognition and language development are increasing, we may need to begin to offer more explanations or more “why” answers – rather than simply giving a simple yes or no to requests. Helping children learn that our decisions are based on keeping them safe all while providing realistic expectations for their behavior may be a conversation we must have. School-agers are beginning to understand others’ perspectives and are learning to listen to other people’s ideas and suggestions.

Kids in school are developing more memory strategies; Learning to read and then reading to learn. In fact, they may be focused on MASTERY of school and extra-curricular activities.

As parents we may have to be ready to adjust to the different range of emotions that may be apparent during this time frame. We may need to be ready to keep the lines of communication open, so that when the emotion doesn’t seem to match the situation, we are ready to explore WHY….and brainstorm potential solutions or strategies for emotional support.

A few tips for support during these school-age years include:

• Show affection for your child and recognize their efforts and accomplishments.
• Ask about school with questions like “tell me about your school day”. “Tell me about your friends”.
• Do fun things together as a family, such as playing games, reading, hiking outdoors and going to events together.
• Talk with your child about using money wisely.
• Praise your child for good behavior.
• Support your child in taking on new challenges.
• Encourage your child to solve problems. Brainstorm possible solutions together. 
• Talk with your child about their homework and discuss any help your child may need or request.

The school years are a time of budding independence. Be sure to show your parental support for that growing independence all while providing the love and limits needed for optimal growth and development.

Can it really be that time? The time for our children to have a preschool experience. It seems like they were only born yesterday, how can they be ready for school? These are some of the comments that many parents have about their child and the next stage of life! All parents have big decisions to make as they evaluate their child’s growth and development and readiness for the next big milestones like school.

How is your child doing with both gross motor activity and fine motor activity? Do they enjoy using a crayon and drawing and coloring? Do they use chalk and write on the sidewalk or chalkboard? Have you noticed your child walking, running, and maybe even learning to hop, skip or jump? These are the actions of a child who is learning to develop those gross motor skills.

You may also notice that your child has learned many more words and uses them to communicate with you and others around them. The more words a child hears, the richer the child’s vocabulary becomes, which has a profound impact on the child’s school performance, IQ, and life path. Vocabulary development is increasingly acknowledged as a sign of school readiness at kindergarten, and these vocabulary skills are dependent upon the amount and quality of language exposure in earlier years.

The Science of Parenting co-hosts share some great suggestions for preparing the preschool age child during this stage in life:

• Continue to read to your child. Nurture the love for books by visits to the library or bookstore.
• Let your child help with simple chores. They can stack their toys or help to put them in a container.
• Encourage your child to play with other children to learn the value of sharing and friendship.
• Give your child a limited number of simple choices (for example, deciding what to wear, when to play, and what to eat for snack.

The ages and stages that make up the preschool years are filled with discovery and exploration. For more information be sure to follow the Center for Disease Control pages on child development.

The toddler years!

Parents of active toddlers will often say, “I have to keep my eyes on that child continually,” and how true this can be. Toddlers are learning to use their newfound motion to explore their environment. Touch is one way they learn and grow. Because they are now crawling and getting around on their hands and knees, parents do have a bigger job in protecting their child from hazards and anything that could be a potential concern! As we consider parenting children of different ages, we are looking at developmental milestones –which are things most children can do or are doing by a certain age. We know that each child develops at their own pace! Some children are early, some are on time, and some a little later.

From studies by Goodnow, J. J. (1988); and more recent studies like Bartlett, J. D., Guzman, L., & Ramos-Olazagasti, M. A. (2018)– across the board the research shows that parents who understand developmental milestones are more likely to have age-appropriate expectations, have higher quality interactions, and use more effective parenting strategies. Be sure to listen to the podcast at the 10 minute mark to hear about how brain development impacts how a child continues on their growth journey.

The toddler years may be filled with emotion for many kids. As they are just learning about who they are becoming as individuals, we note that they have very little emotion regulation skills. They are learning to express their needs but can become frustrated when they cannot communicate effectively and we may see the toddler meltdown, or tantrum.  The meltdown could also stem from too much stimulation in the environment.

A few great ideas for engaging with your toddler during this life phase include:

• Spend time reading to your toddler daily.
• Ask your child to name and identify body parts and objects.
• Play games with your toddler, like shape sorting, simple puzzles, or follow the leader.
• Teach your child simple songs and rhymes.
• Give your child attention and praise when following instructions and showing positive behavior and limit attention for defiant behavior like meltdowns.
• Encourage your toddler’s curiosity and include field trips as opportunities to keep learning!

Protecting our children and setting boundaries for safety is something that most parents would agree is essential in raising happy healthy families! The boundaries help support growth and development and children learn they can count on their family members to protect them.

In each life stage, prevention measures must be considered. For infants and toddlers, child-proofing the home, covering outlets, providing baby gates, and anchoring bookshelves are examples of how parents prepare the environment for health and safety.

When children are school-agers we encourage wearing a bike helmet when riding; we may teach children to ask permission before leaving to play at another friends home. 

As teens we may teach “peer pressure” refusal skills so these kids can have a few tools at their disposal for protection and safety. And providing a few explanations of “why” rules and boundaries are established can help children and teens know we value safety!  

Prevention is something everyone can practice! Communicate honestly and frequently with your family members about how and why safety and prevention are important and valued! The lessons learned through shared communication can be the first step in prevention education.