Family Resources

We know you want to make an informed choice when selecting the right center and program for your child. The following links provide useful information that can help you feel confident that you have made the best possible choice.

National Child Care Information Center -

The National Child Care Information and Technical Assistance Center (NCCIC), a service of the Child Care Bureau, is a national clearinghouse and technical assistance (TA) center that provides comprehensive child care information resources and TA services to Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Administrators and other key stakeholders.

National Child Care Association -

The NCCA is active in national childcare issues and works in Washington to balance the quality, affordability, and availability of licensed, private childcare and education programs. Its mission is to promote the growth and safeguard the interest of quality early childhood care and education focusing on licensed, private providers of these services.

National Association for the Education of Young Children -

NAEYC administers an accreditation system to improve the quality of education and care provided in programs for young children ages birth to 8. Its website provides information for families concerning early childhood development and childcare issues. Founded in 1926, NAEYC is the world's largest organization working on behalf of young children with nearly 90,000 members, a national network of over 300 local, state, and regional Affiliates, and a growing global alliance of like-minded organizations.

National Network for Child Care -

NNCC unites the expertise of many of the nation's leading universities through the outreach system of Cooperative Extension to share knowledge about children and childcare. The site offers over 1,000 publications and childcare resources, an e-mail discussion group, a quarterly newsletter, and more.

Almanac of Policy Issues: Child Care Issues -

The Almanac offers background information, archived documents, and links on childcare issues in the U.S. It focuses on need, affordability, and quality of care while providing links to many related resources.

Administration for Children and Families -

The ACF is a federal agency that funds state, territory, local, and tribal organizations to provide family assistance (subsidized), child support, childcare, Head Start, child welfare, and other programs relating to children and families.

Healthy Child -

This informative website (Healthy Child) is designed to help parents create a home  environment where  babies and children can thrive and reach their full potential. It advocates holistic, natural medicine and reducing environmental toxins as much as possible. Featured are hundreds of reliable, indepth articles, resources, and quality information about natural, holistic parenting plus carefully selected natural, non-toxic products for keeping babies and kids safe and healthy.

National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care -

The NRC website offers links to a variety of childcare resources, state licensing agencies, and guides to choosing a childcare program.

Video Resources

I'm Moving. I'm Learning by Choosy Kids
Lyrics: I'm Moving. I'm Learning
PBS Kids
PBS Parents
Sprout Online
PBS Kidsplay

Articles and Advice

Miami Valley Child Development Centers, Inc. has developed this listing of articles for topics important to parents. Please check back often for informational updates that will be helpful to you in parenting.

Why is Early Learning so Important?

Infant-Toddler Intervention on the Road to School Readiness: Lessons >From Early Head Start

"By the age of two, toddlers' brains are as active as those of adults. By the age of three, the brains of children are two and a half times more active than the brains of adults-they stay that way throughout the first decade of life."

- Rethinking the Brain: New Insights into Early Development, Rima Shore, 1997

"85 percent of a child's brain development takes place by the age of 5. Synapses are created with astonishing speed in the first three years of life.  For the rest of the first decade, a child's brain has twice as many synapses as an adult's brain.  This means that a child's environment during the first five years of life can greatly impact the brains' ability to develop."

- Rethinking the Brain: New Insights into Early Development, Rima Shore, 1997

"What occurs during the first five years of life can have an enormous impact on not only do well the baby's brain develops at the moment, but how well that baby learns and grow throughout their lifetime,"

- Christopher P. Lucas, MD, director of Early Childhood Services a the NYU Child Study Center

"Early experiences determine whether a child's developing brain architecture provides a strong or weak foundation for all future learning. Behavior and health."www.developingchild.harvard.edu, p.3, Aug. 2007
"Your child learns more in their first three years than adults do in a decade." 

www.zero5.org