New Parents Resources
Alberta Routine Immunization Schedule
Recommended immunization schedule based on age and type of vaccince.
Babies Don't Bounce: Keeping Your Baby Safe From Falls (Birth to Six Months)
This handout identifies age-appropriate and simple steps parents can take to prevent their infant (from birth to six months) from fall-related injuries.
Babies Don't Bounce: Keeping Your Older Baby Safe From Falls (6-18 months)
This handout identifies age-appropriate and simple steps parents can take to prevent their infant from fall-related injuries (6 to 18 Months).
Growing Miracles: Developmental milestones 3-5 years
This is the "thinking" stage. Your child needs to keep learning about earlier developmental tasks as well as learning new tasks.
Growing Miracles: Connecting with other parents
It is important to your well-being to connect with other adults and parents (with or without your children). It gives you a chance to get out of the house, go somewhere other than just to work and share both personal and parenting joys and challenges.
Growing Miracles: Emotional and social development - infants
At this age, your infant's emotional and social development is one and the same—and it grows from your infant's relationship with you.
Growing Miracles: Growth and development
While children grow and develop at their own pace, development follows an orderly pattern. Each stage builds on the one before.
Growing Miracles: Keeping your cool
Stress often simmers, but anger can explode. It can be tough to keep your cool around a toddler who's just put a roll of toilet paper in the toilet or is painting a picture with mashed potatoes on the dining room table.
Growing Miracles: Preventing injuries – toddlers
Toddlers are active, curious, and very mobile. As they are impulsive by nature, you cannot rely on toddler's to always remember or follow safety rules.
Growing Miracles: Social development – babies
The second six months of a baby's life can be described as happy and sociable. As your baby gets older, she will begin to relate to more and more people.
Growing Miracles: Active living for young children
Children love to be physically active. Children need you to provide daily opportunities and encouragement to make active living a lifelong habit.
Growing Miracles: Balancing security and exploration
Exploration is a balance between two opposite forces in both children and parents. Children need to feel secure so they will stay close to you, but they also need to explore, and will increasingly want to go off on their own.
Growing Miracles: Becoming a dad
New dads can also get the blues or depression as they adjust to life with a new baby. The first few months of a baby's life are physically and emotionally demanding for both parents.
Growing Miracles: Choosing quality child care
The decision to leave your child in someone else's care can be very emotional. Child care can create anxiety for both parents and children of any age.
Growing Miracles: Cognitive development – babies
From 6 to 18 months of age, babies continue to absorb and start to use language. Reading, talking, and playing with your baby will continue to help them discover the world around them.
Growing Miracles: Cognitive development – infants
Your infant grows and develops new skills and abilities, through listening, watching and interacting with you. Playing, talking and reading with your infant is very important.
Growing Miracles: Cognitive development – preschoolers
The preschool years are an important and vibrant time for learning.
Growing Miracles: Crying
Crying is one way your baby communicates. It's normal and it's meant to get your attention.
Growing Miracles: Dealing with powerful feelings
Your baby is learning what to expect from others based on his relationship with you.
Growing Miracles: Developmental milestones 0-3 months
This is your child's "being" stage. Your child needs the chance to learn lessons or developmental tasks to do with attachment and trust.
Growing Miracles: Developmental milestones 12-18 months
At this stage, children need the chance to learn lessons or developmental tasks having to do with attachment, trust, autonomy and independance.
Growing Miracles: Developmental milestones 18 months-2 years
This is the "thinking" stage. Your child needs to keep learning about earlier developmental tasks as well as learning to explore.
Growing Miracles: Developmental milestones 2-3 years
This is the "thinking" stage. Your child needs to keep learning about earlier developmental tasks as well as learning about emotions, independence and beginnings.
Growing Miracles: Developmental milestones 3-6 months
Your child is still at the "being" stage. Your child needs the chance to learn lessons or developmental tasks having to do with attachment and trust.
Growing Miracles: Developmental milestones 6-12 months
This is your child's "doing" stage. Your child needs the chance to keep learning about earlier developmental tasks as well as learning about discovery.
Growing Miracles: Dressing and undressing
As your little one becomes an older toddler, he will begin to dress and undress himself with more skill.
Growing Miracles: Emotional development – preschoolers
Preschoolers show their growing independence, initiative, and creativity by wanting to try new things and make new friends.
Growing Miracles: Emotional development – toddlers
The toddler years are a time of intense emotions. It takes time for toddlers to learn how to deal with these new feelings.
Growing Miracles: Emotional regulation
Emotional regulation is the process of learning how emotions make you feel inside and healthy ways to show these emotions to others.
Growing Miracles: Encourage positive behaviour in preschoolers
Help your preschooler by offering limited choices, encouraging capability, talking about expectations and by setting a good example.
Growing Miracles: Encourage positive behaviour in toddlers
One of the hardest jobs of being a parent is dealing with your children's behaviour.
Growing Miracles: Feeding preschoolers
Preschool children are busy all day long and need food at regular times.
Growing Miracles: Helping siblings adjust to a new baby
Before your baby is born, tell your toddler what to expect: babies need a lot of special care and attention.
Growing Miracles: Feeding toddlers
By the time your child is a young toddler, he will be eating a variety of foods from the four main food groups of Canada's Food Guide: vegetables and fruit, grain products, milk and alternatives, and meat and alternatives.
Growing Miracles: From crib to bed
Going from a crib to a bed is a major step for children and parents alike.
Growing Miracles: How to brush children's teeth
Tips for brushing your child's teeth.
Growing Miracles: Nervous habits
Nervous habits such as biting nails, twisting hair, tugging ears, and grinding teeth can be signs of stress.
Growing Miracles: Night terrors and nightmares
What you can do to help your child.
Growing Miracles: Oral health – toddlers and preschoolers
Toddlers will have all their baby teeth by the time they are 2 or 3 years old.
Growing Miracles: Parents and parenting
How people come to be parents is not as important as the parents they come to be.
Growing Miracles: Physical development – babies
Your baby's rate of growth and development from 6-18 months.
Growing Miracles: Physical development – infants
Your infant may lose some weight after birth but should begin steadily gaining after the first few days.
Growing Miracles: Physical development – preschoolers
Your child's growth and development from 3-5 years.
Growing Miracles: Physical development – toddlers
As babies become toddlers, their growth tends to slow, their body shape evens out, and they move faster and more often.
Growing Miracles: Play – babies
There are many ways that you can play with your baby.
Growing Miracles: Play – infants
Play is often thought of as fun and carefree, which it should be. However, play is much, much more—it is the work of your child.
Growing Miracles: Preventing injuries – babies
As babies become more curious and mobile, they will want to try new things and test their limits.
Growing Miracles: Preventing injuries
Injuries are the leading cause of death and disability for children in Alberta. More children die each year from injuries than from all childhood diseases combined.
Growing Miracles: Preventing injuries – infants
Keeping your child safe from injuries.
Growing Miracles: Preventing injuries – preschoolers
Preschoolers' adventures can put them in risky situations. They are too young to understand danger and lack the physical and thinking skills to protect themselves.
Growing Miracles: Separation anxiety
As early as 7 months, but as late as 18 months, babies can develop separation anxiety.
Growing Miracles: Sibling rivalry
Rivalries and disputes between brothers and sisters can end as quickly as they begin, but they can sometimes simmer for hours and days
Growing Miracles: Sleep – babies
Between the ages of 6 and 12 months, babies begin to sleep more predictably, sleeping more at night and less during the day.
Growing Miracles: Sleep – toddlers
A pleasant, predictable bedtime routine will help your young toddler - and you - get a good rest night at night.
Growing Miracles: Sleep – infants
Nothing is more peaceful than the sight of a sleeping baby.
Growing Miracles: Soothers
Babies suck to eat, but they also need to suck to soothe themselves when they are tired or upset. Your baby may suck on her fingers or fists, or you may decide to use a soother.
Growing Miracles: Social development – toddlers
Eager to do what they see others do, your young toddler may start to copy or help with simple household chores, especially if you have child-size versions of everyday things such as brooms, dishes and shovels.
Growing Miracles: Social development – preschoolers
Your preschooler’s world is expanding beyond your family.
Growing Miracles: Solving problems
Helping your child to problem solve.
Growing Miracles: Spanking and physical punishment
Some parents think spanking is a way to teach their children how to behave and they use it to teach them a lesson.
Growing Miracles: Speech and language – infants and babies
What begins with an "ooh," an "aah" and a "goo" a few months after birth will become thousands of words by the time your child is an adult.
Growing Miracles: Temper tantrums
Temper tantrums are a normal and natural, although noisy and wrenching part of childhood.
Growing Miracles: Toilet teaching
Learning to use a toilet can't be rushed. It's important to wait until your child is both physically ready and motivated to learn.
Growing Miracles: Vision
Your child's first eye examination should be at 6 months, again at 3 years old, and yearly from the age of 5 years.
When your baby can't stop crying
New parents can be surprised by how much their baby cries.
What is speech?
Speech is the pattern of sounds that give us the spoken form of any language. To be able to communicate using speech, children need to make, or "articulate" a variety of speech sounds.
What is Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS)?
Shaken Baby Syndrome(SBS) is a term used to describe the very serious injuries that can happen if a baby is roughly shaken.
What is asthma?
Asthma is a chronic respiratory condition caused by inflammation of the airways. The most common symptoms are coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath. Attacks can range from mild to life-threatening.
Warming breast milk
Important information about how to warm breast milk, the type of bottle to use, and things to avoid.
Thrush
Thrush is a yeast infection that causes white patches in the mouth and on the tongue. Thrush is most common in babies and older adults, but it can occur at any age.
Teeth care for children
Baby teeth are important. They preserve space for the permanent teeth and help your child chew food and speak clearly.
Supporting literacy and language learning with toddlers (1-3 years)
Toddlers are very active and will play with books as they do other toys. Books should be durable and safe.
Strong baby teeth
Strong baby teeth start with you. Women with good oral health usually have children with good oral health.
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
Each week, three babies die of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) in Canada.
Speech sound development
Most children follow the same path of speech development and reach certain skills or "milestones" by certain ages. However, it is also important to remember that children are individuals and will progress at somewhat different rates.
What is rubella?
Rubella (German measles) is a mild viral disease that usually occurs in children. It is a more severe disease in adults.
Safe sleep for babies
Good sleeping habits are important to your baby's physical health and emotional well-being.
Red measles (rubeola)
Measles is a very contagious infectious disease. It can be spread by airborn droplets or close personal contact with an infected person.
Protect your children from second-hand smoke
If you smoke, you should think about quitting. Your children may be healthier if you do.
Preventing sunburn and dehydration
Too much sun exposure, especially to children, can be harmful. The sun's burning rays can cause sunburn, skin cancer and eye damage.
Pneumococcal vaccine for children
A bacterium called Streptococcus pneumoniae causes pneumococcal disease. Pneumococcal disease can cause serious infections, such as meningitis and pneumonia
Picky eating
Picking eating is normal.
Mumps (parotitis)
Mumps is a viral disease that can affect children, and sometimes adults. Mumps can be spread when someone who is sick coughs or sneezes tiny drops into the air or onto objects.
Meningococcal conjugate vaccine
The meningococal bacterium can cause two very serious diseases, meningococcal meningitis and meningococcemia. When present in a person's nose or throat, the infection can be spread to another person.
Infant crying
All babies cry. It can be hard or upsetting to listen to. If crying was pleasant to listen to, it would be easy to ignore.
Head shape in babies
As babies now spend more time on their backs, the number of babies developing flat areas on the head has increased.
Getting breastfeeding off to a good start
Breastmilk is the normal food for babies. It is one of the most precious gifts you can give your child. Breastfeeding is a learned skill.
Food guide serving sizes for 1-5 years
Small tummies need smaller amounts of food. Serving sizes may be smaller than you think.
Feeding your baby solid foods: from 6 to 12 months of age
If your baby is 6 months old and reaching for your food, then your baby is telling you that she is interested in learning to eat solid foods.
Feeding baby infant formula
Although breastfeeding is best for babies, you might have a special reason for formula feeding.
Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Hib vaccine (DTap-IPV-Hib)
At one time, serious infections causes by diphtheria, pertussis, polio and Hib diseases were common in Canada.
Dental first aid
Dental injuries are always unexpected and are best prevented. Calm and quick action can help reduce a child's fear and pain.
Consumer product safety: policy statement for bumper pads
The Canadian Paediatric Society, the Canadian Institute of Child Health, and the Canadian Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths all advise against using bumper pads in cribs.
Common questions about child safety seats
When used correctly, child safety seats and booster seats save lives and reduce injuries.
Cleaning baby's teeth
You can help your child to have healthy teeth by starting early with good habits.
Chicken? Get vaccinated to prevent chickenpox disease
Chickenpox is a common disease of young children that usually does not cause serious illness.
Caring for your circumcised newborn
A layer of skin called the foreskin covers the tip of a baby's penis. In a circumcision, the foreskin is cut away from the penis, leaving the tip uncovered.
Caring for your uncircumcised newborn
How to care for your uncircumcised newborn.
Child Safety Seat Yes Test: Rear-Facing
Using a child safety seat properly can reduce the chance of a child being injured or killed by 75 percent.
Ear Infections in Children (Otitis Media)
All about ear infections (Otitis Media) in children.
Feeding your baby expressed breast milk
How to express breastmilk and why you would need to.
