Fredericksburg Parent

14 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • May 2023 14 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • May 2023 INTERVIEWED BY EMILY FREEHLING Ask the Expert a sk t h e e x p e rt Raising young children is tough. Focusing on the progress your child is making can help turn annoyances into moments of gratitude. The first three years of a child's life are a momentous period of brain development. The brain reaches about 80% of its adult volume by age 3. But all of the important skill-building and neural connections hap- pening during this time don't play out in daily life like a highlight reel of slam dunks and touchdowns. Growth is messy. It can look like a basket of toys flung all over the room, a chase around the grocery store, and an exhausted, frustrated parent or caregiver. The Parent Education – Infant Development program (PE-ID) is an early intervention program for children from birth to 36 months, run through the Rappahannock Area Community Services Board. PE-ID's team of speech language pathologists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, early childhood education specialists and service coordinators works directly with parents and children in their homes to minimize developmental delays (and work with atypical development) during the first three years of life. The program serves families in Stafford, Spotsylvania, Caroline and King George counties, and the city of Fredericksburg. Through decades of experience working with families of young chil- dren, PE-ID's team understands just how stressful raising an infant and toddler can be. When parents learn to see that some of the most frustrating behaviors of this age group are actually signs that a child is reaching important developmental milestones, some of that stress can give way to smiles of celebration. A message from RACSB's Parent Education - Infant Development Program PERSPECTIVE Shift

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