6 Ways to Help Young Children Thrive in 2026

As we say goodbye to a challenging 2025, your goals for the fresh new year ahead are probably starting to take shape. We’ve collected some of the best tips and resources from our experts to help you support the physical, academic, social, and mental well-being of young children in 2026.

We hope you’ll find some useful guidance and strategies here. Bookmark and share this post to help fellow early childhood professionals ensure the best outcomes for children and families in the new year!

Support resilience and healing

Young children need adult support to navigate obstacles to their well-being, from anxiety to the impact of trauma. Here are some ways you can help this year (and beyond).

Try these tips:

• 10 Ways to Support Young Children’s Resilience and Healing
• 8 Actions That Help Ease Young Children’s Anxiety
• Debunking the Myths About the Pyramid Model and Infant Mental Health

Brush up your knowledge of child development

Developmentally appropriate practices are rooted in broad knowledge of how children develop across key areas. This year, top up your knowledge of child development and your toolbox of strategies to help promote it.

Try these tips:

• 10 Joyful Activities that Boost Young Children’s Development
• 14 Classroom Design Elements that Support Young Children’s Development
• 10 Fun Indoor Activities that Boost Young Children’s Development

Get these guides

Perfect for professional learning across all early childhood settings, these essential Quick Reference Guides put fundamental knowledge and ready-to-use strategies in the hands of every educator.

Build better partnerships with families

Families are the experts on their children! This year, explore some new ways to involve them as trusted partners in their child’s development and education.

Try these tips:

• 9 Ways to Strengthen Family Partnerships
• Home Visiting Tips: 11 Things to Do When Giving Feedback to Families
• FREE TOOLKIT: Involving Families in Assessment and Intervention
• 5 Tips for Building a Reciprocal Relationship with Parents of Young Children

Read these books

Give early literacy a big boost before first grade

Strong literacy skills underpin long-term academic success. Give young learners a head start on their literacy development with tips and resources from the experts.

Try these tips:

• 12 Essentials for Effective Early Language & Literacy Instruction
• 11 Fun Activities for Boosting Phonological Awareness
• 12 Best-Practice Tips for Building Young Children’s Writing Skills
• 11 Fun Animal Activities That Encourage Early Language & Literacy Skills
• 6 Fun Games for Reinforcing Alphabet Knowledge

Read these books

Strengthen the social skills kids need to succeed

Discover some new strategies for helping kids develop key social skills: learning to share, wait their turn, make friends, manage interpersonal conflict, and recognize emotions in themselves and others.

Try these tips:

• 8 Activities that Teach Young Children Social-Emotional Skills
• Tips on Teaching Young Children to Wait
• Recommended Reads: 40+ Books that Teach Young Children Essential Social-Emotional Skills
• 8 Actions for Managing Classroom Conflicts in Young Children
• 14 Great Friendship Supports for Early Childhood Classrooms
• Solving the Puzzle of Better Behavior with Breathe—Move—Learn
• 10 Effective Ways to Teach Young Children about Emotions

Read these books

Conduct regular developmental screening

See our screening navigator

Get a step-by-step guide to the big picture of developmental screening, from planning and implementing a successful program to monitoring results and fine-tuning trouble spots. Start here.