Since its establishment in 2010, our Child Development Services at WIC, in collaboration with the UCLA Early Developmental Screening and Intervention (EDSI) Initiative, have achieved remarkable success. Initially, our focus was on enhancing parental awareness of developmental milestones and empowering them to engage in discussions about their children’s development with healthcare professionals. This approach has proven highly effective, resulting in enhanced developmental outcomes for numerous children.
In recent years, we have expanded our services at WIC by deploying Child Development Specialists (WIC Nutrition Assistants with specialized expertise in child development) to three of our WIC sites. Using brief prompts and checklists, our staff identifies parents expressing concerns about their child’s development. Most commonly, these concerns pertain to speech/language, behavior, and gross motor skills (walking). Families with identified concerns are referred to our Child Development Specialists.
Our monthly Story Times are not merely entertaining events but also invaluable opportunities for children aged 0-5 to cultivate early literacy skills. Through culturally appropriate books, movement exercises, letter recognition activities, and music, children engage in diverse activities that foster their cognitive and language development. Following Story Time sessions, our Child Development Specialists delve deeper into the significance of reading with families, share intriguing facts about language and literacy development, and encourage ongoing reading at home. Each child departs with a book and cherished memories of a stimulating and educational experience.
To join us for our monthly Story Time, please visit WICforYou.org/StoryTime.