The Nevada Infant and Toddler Early Learning Guidelines (ELG) have been developed for early childhood professionals as well as parents. This document was developed so that the adults who are caring for infants and toddlers can have a set of appropriate developmental guidelines that they can refer to for information and resources. The guidelines can be used as a frame of reference for children but it is important to remember that each child develops differently so the age ranges should be used as suggestions. The activities that are recommended can be provided by the caregiver or parent to help support the learning. Infants and toddlers grow and develop rapidly so it is important to mention that different milestones can occur at different times and stages in a child’s development can change quickly. The use of these guidelines will support the use of best practice approaches in infant and toddler programs.
In 2008 a steering committee of early childhood professionals began to work on Nevada’s Infant and Toddler Early Learning Guidelines. They reviewed the work that had been accomplished by other states and then invited a list of stakeholders to become participants in work groups. The workgroups were formed in Northern, Southern and Northeastern Nevada. The workgroups focused on specific domains and they developed specific guidelines that should be included in Nevada’s Early Learning Guidelines. The guidelines are aligned with the Nevada Pre-K Standards. The participants identified the following age groups: Birth to Four Months, Four to Eight Months, Eight to Twelve Months, Twelve to Eighteen Months, Eighteen to Twenty-Four Months, Twenty-Four to Thirty Months, Thirty Months to Three years and Three Years Old. A select group from the steering committee collected the recommendations from the work groups and developed the draft of the Early Learning Guidelines. The draft was introduced to the Nevada Early Childhood Community during the 2009 Early Childhood State Conference in Northern Nevada. The participants and committee members made recommendations and suggestions. The steering committee completed the recommendations in 2010. A draft copy of the completed guidelines was reviewed by the steering committee and went to print in 2011.