Information For Families

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Your child’s well-being is more than just physical health. It also includes their mental and emotional health and feeling safe, secure, and cared for. When children feel safe at home and in their community, they are better able to grow, learn, and build important life skills. Supporting your child’s physical, mental, and emotional health helps them reach their full potential.

Mental and Emotional Health

Mental health helps children think clearly, make good choices, handle stress, and build healthy relationships. Emotional health helps children understand their feelings and learn how to manage them.

You can support your child’s mental and emotional well-being from the very beginning. Even as a baby, your child’s mental health grows through strong, loving relationships with you and other caregivers, including child care providers. Continue building these connections as your child grows.

Finding Mental Health Support

If you are looking for mental health support for yourself or your child, help is available. The Mental Health Program Directory can help families in North Dakota find services that meet their needs. You can:

• Search for services by location and other details
• View program information, such as name, address, and phone number

Find a Mental Health Program Near You

You already have what it takes to help your child learn and grow. Every day, you can support your child's development by watching how they play, learn, talk, act, and move. Share what you notice with your child’s doctor at every check-up.

One helpful way to track your child’s progress is by using developmental milestones.

What Are Developmental Milestones?

Developmental milestones are skills most children learn by a certain age. They help you know what changes to expect as your child grows. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers free tools to help you track your child's milestones:

• CDC Milestone Checklists: Printable checklists, for children ages 2 months to 5 years, to track and celebrate the milestones your child is reaching.
• CDC's Milestone Tracker: Interactive app that includes milestone checklists and examples to help you know what to look for in your child.

What If I Have Concerns about My Child’s Development?

If you have concerns, acting early can make a difference. Start by completing a milestone checklist for your child's age and talk with your child's doctor about what you notice.

Ask About Developmental Screening

Developmental screenings are a more detailed way to check whether your child is learning skills when expected. Screenings are done by trained health care or education professionals.

• If your child is under 3 years old:
  • Right Track services offer free screenings and home visits for you and your child. Right Track visits are for all families with children under three years old, not just children with delays.
  • North Dakota Early Intervention Services can help identify developmental delays early, when support can make a big difference. Evaluations are free. If your child qualifies, you will work together to create a plan that meets your child’s and family’s needs. Services may include home visits, consultations, and parent coaching.
• If your child is age 3 to 5: Early Childhood Special Education supports children who may need extra help with learning or development. If your child qualifies, a team will work with you to set goals and provide services.

More Resources to Support Your Child's Development

• Talking is Teaching: Talk, Read, Sing: Encourages simple daily actions to support early brain and language development.  
• Vroom: Offers easy, brain-building tips you can use during everyday moments in your child’s first five years.
• Waterford Upstart: An interactive learning program for children PreK-2nd grade that builds reading, math, and science skills through fun songs, stories, and games that adjust to your child's learning level.

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All behavior is a way children communicate, especially young children. A smile can show happiness, a frown can show sadness, and other behaviors such as yelling, hitting, or pulling away, often give clues about what your child needs.

Young children are still learning how to use words to express their feelings and needs. What may look like misbehavior is often a way of communicating. Many challenging behaviors are normal as children learn to calm themselves, handle strong feelings, and ask for help.

Understanding why a behavior is happening makes it easier to respond in a way that supports your child and helps them learn new skills. The resources below can help support you along the way.

Resources to Promote Positive Behavior

These tools can help you support your child and build a strong relationship:

• CDC’s Positive Parenting Tips: Short videos and practical ideas for common parenting challenges.
• National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations: Helpful information on teaching social and emotional skills at home.
• Parents Lead: Resources to support parents in promoting their child’s behavioral health.
• NDSU Extension Agency: Free parent trainings and support sessions available across North Dakota.

Partnering with Your Child Care Program

Your child care program can be a helpful partner when behavior feels challenging. Children do best when families and caregivers use the same approaches.

Ways to work together include:

• Sharing changes or concerns about your child’s behavior.
• Asking questions and learning what your caregiver sees during the day.
• Making a plan together to support your child with consistent strategies.
• Asking about community agencies, such as USpireND. 

Working as a team helps children feel safe, supported, and understood.

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