Vroom has added value to the family and community engagement efforts of Child Care Aware of Northwest Arkansas (NWA), as it has reinforced our training on brain development. Most parents are happy to learn that they already “have what it takes” to help their children’s brain development. Here's how we've used Vroom tips as conversation starters throughout the community and in our training workshops. 

As NAEYC stated in a policy statement issued on January 2012, “technology and interactive media are here to stay.” However, there remain many questions as to whether technology use with children in early childhood settings is beneficial or harmful to their development.

Collaborating with Vroom has been exciting and informative here at the Child Care Resource Center (CCRC) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. We are the child care resource and referral agency serving the nine counties of Alleghany, Ashe, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Stokes, Surry, Wilkes and Yadkin.

Over the past several months, as a Vroom Ambassador, CCRC had the opportunity to show parents, teachers and caregivers how easy it is to help children learn using everyday activities they are already doing. CCRC has used many opportunities to share Vroom with families, teachers and caregivers including:

• Community outreach events  
• Professional development classes 
• Referral packets                                                  
• Toolkits for providers
• Birthing centers

Vroom provides interactive tools and resources that highlight the science behind early brain development, showing parents how they can turn everyday activities like bath time and meal time into opportunities that build their children’s brains. The Vroom Partnership at Child Care Aware® of America is made up of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies who educate and provide Vroom resources to families, providers, and organizations in their communities so they too understand the importance of brain development during the first five years of life. Learn more about Vroom here.

Vroom provides interactive tools and resources that highlight the science behind early brain development, showing parents how they can turn everyday activities like bath time and meal time into opportunities that build their children’s brains. The Vroom Partnership at Child Care Aware® of America is made up of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies who educate and provide Vroom resources to families, providers, and organizations in their communities so they too understand the importance of brain development during the first five years of life. Learn more about Vroom here.

Guest Blog Post by Kris Nicholson, Child Care Aware of Kansas and Brenda Bandy, Kansas Breastfeeding Coalition

Being prepared for an emergency is top priority for many including those in the child care field. The Kansas Breastfeeding Coalition Child Care Section recently discovered a gap in information for what to do when a breastfeeding infant is in a child care program when an emergency occurs.