Aid to Life Initiative

Sometimes the amount of information and advice available regarding child development can be overwhelming and confusing for parents. It is difficult to know which information is correct and how best to help your child.

The 'Aid to Life' (aidtolife.org) initiative aims to make information about supporting children’s development freely available to all parents in a form that is easy to understand and easy for any parent to apply.

The principles adopted rest on the premise that children develop optimally when they are placed in an environment that supports their natural development, with an adult who understands how to connect them to productive activity and then allows them enough time to be active according to their own pace and rhythm.

 These three principles can be translated into practice in the following way:

• Create an environment that provides a rich learning environment that is appropriate to each child’s needs, at each stage of development
  
• Connect your child to it so that he can engage in developmental activity
  
• Make time for your child to do things in his own way and at his own pace. 
  

The Initiative

Aid to Life looks at how these three simple principles can be applied to the developmental areas of Movement, Communication, Independence and Self-discipline. This initiative by The North American Montessori Teachers' Association (NAMTA) addresses the child between birth and three and is available from the website: 'Aid to Life'.