From birth to 5 years, children should reach milestones in how they play, learn, speak, act and move.

As an early childhood educator, you are a valuable resource to parents. CDC’s “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” (LTSAE) has free research-based, parent-friendly resources on child development to help you boost family engagement and your own professional development.

Using CDC’s Learn the Signs. Act Early. can:

• Help you track and celebrate each child’s developmental milestones
• Help you communicate with families about development
• Provide guidance on discussing developmental concerns
• Help families know what milestones to expect next
• Complement and support developmental screening
• Provide professional development with CDC’s FREE CEU training, Watch Me! Celebrating Milestones and Sharing Concerns
• Aid in early identification of the 1 in 6 children with a developmental delay or disability

Share Resources with Families

Most resources are available in English and Spanish. CDC’s milestone checklists are also available in additional languages. Customize these resources by adding your center’s logo and contact information. Request customizable files from [email protected] and print them.

Show parents photo and video examples of milestones using the Milestones in Action image library.

Print FREE resources.

Promote CDC’s FREE Milestone Tracker app for families by printing a poster for your classroom and encouraging them to download.

Use a web button to link your center’s website to Learn the Signs. Act Early.

All young children need both developmental monitoring and developmental screening. Together, these help ensure a child’s development is on track and can help children and families get support for concerns. Both involve looking for developmental milestones, which are things that most children can do by a certain age.

Note: In centers that conduct developmental screening, these materials support and complement, but do not replace, developmental screening.

Learn more about developmental monitoring and screening.

Watch Me! Celebrating Milestones and Sharing Concerns

This FREE, one-hour, online training course for early care and education providers, shares tools and best practices for monitoring the development of children in your care and talking about it with families. FREE Continuing Education is available.
Take the training in English | Take the training in Spanish

Tips for Talking with Parents about Developmental Concerns

This tip sheet provides information on how to regularly talk with families about their child’s development and also provides tips for talking with families when you have concerns.
Click here to download the tip sheet in English and Spanish!

Use the Milestones in Action library as an aid in completing the milestone checklist for your child’s age.

This one-page handout highlights the benefits of integrating Learn the Signs. Act Early. resources within early care and education settings and provides information on how to access materials.
Click here to download the quick guide in English and Spanish.

Interested in learning more about developmental milestones? Check out our article to learn more about your young child’s development and when it might be helpful to seek more information or support.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |  Resources for Early Childhood Educators, https://www.cdc.gov/act-early/early-childhood-educators| Last updated: March 2026