From birth to age 5, a child’s brain and body are going through enormous changes. This rapid development means that almost every day can bring something new in how they behave, communicate, learn, and move. Some of these changes may seem triumphant (first steps!) while others can be trying (the “terrible twos”). During this time, you may begin to have concerns about your child’s emerging mental health — including their social, emotional, and behavioral development.
Get advice about how to support preschool children.
The school-age years bring your child into greater contact with the larger world — with new social, cognitive, and emotional territory to explore. There are so many opportunities for mastery and independence, alongside new challenges and worries. Exploring a wide variety of interests and building friendships is at the center of your child's healthy development. Challenges of this time include bearing setbacks, disappointments, and unfairness in school, sports, hobbies, and friendships. It's an important time to help your child gain meaningful self-confidence and a sense of responsibility so they'll be able to make good choices for themselves.
Get advice about how to support school-age children.
The teen years are a complex brew of physical, mental, emotional, and social changes. Teens have more capacity for complex thought, but their brain development is largely focused on social experiences and processes. They’re also going through puberty, with its physical, emotional, and hormonal changes. Though they are getting more independent, they are also facing more peer influence and peer pressure.
Get advice about how to support teens.
Young adults are experiencing personal growth, major life changes, and are making a lot more of their own decisions about those changes. They might be starting college or a career, moving out on their own, managing money, developing serious relationships, and generally are working on becoming more independent and self-reliant. The transitions and decisions that come with this life stage can feel challenging, stressful, and even overwhelming.
Get advice about how to support young adults.
