Caregiving

Formal and informal caregiving is and will continue to be important to help all Texans remain active, vibrant parts of their community. We have a variety of materials and resources for child, adult and military family caregivers, including educational resources and in-person programming.

Related Departments: Nutrition

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AgriLife Extension Military Program

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service – Military Program focuses on providing educational programs and resources to assist veterans, service members and their families as they face the many uncertainties of life.
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Caregiving

Programs

We offer numerous free and affordable programs on agriculture and natural resources, family and community health, economic health and youth development. We also offer many volunteer opportunities. Browse the list below.
Program

Balancing Food & Play (grades 3rd-5th) was developed to address children’s health issues by developing lifelong healthy behaviors through nutrition, physical activity, and family engagement.

Program

Promoting Early Education Quality (PEEQ) is dedicated to encouraging the adoption of research- and evidence-based practices at all levels of the early education field.

All Caregiving Programs

Courses

Course

Promoting creativity in an early childhood setting is critical for the development of children’s brains. Environments, daily interactions, and experiences are all opportunities to promote creativity in young learners. Creativity can be expressed through the visual arts, music and movement, and dramatic arts.

After completing this 3-hour course, the learner will be able to describe the elements of creativity, explain how environments can encourage creativity, examine how the arts can support development across all domains in early childhood, and discuss the different categories of creative arts with connections to the four developmental domains.

Course

Engaging families to become involved in their child’s early care and education sets the foundation for that involvement to continue throughout the child’s schooling. Helping families understand the importance of this involvement is critical. Families may not always understand how important they are in the education process, from early care onwards.

In this two-hour course, the learner will describe strategies for conducting orientations, holding formal meetings with families, discussing ways to support child development at home, encouraging parent involvement, and determining community resources available to help families and their children.

Course

Abusive head trauma is the leading cause of death in cases of child abuse in the United States. This 2-hour course will help you better understand the dangers of abusive head trauma and how to take steps to protect the children in your care from this type of abuse.

All Caregiving Courses

All Resources on Caregiving

  • Course

    Infants’ experiences early in life literally influence the physical structures of the brain, opening the way for patterns of thought and behavior for the rest of a child’s life. This 1-hour course addresses critical topics related to caring for the youngest and most vulnerable population of children, infants and toddlers.

  • Course

    Abusive head trauma is the leading cause of death in cases of child abuse in the United States. This 2-hour course will help you better understand the dangers of abusive head trauma and how to take steps to protect the children in your care from this type of abuse.

  • Course

    In this course, you will learn all about infant care. We discuss foundations of infant development, the importance of a loving caregiver, infants’ amazing abilities, and best practices for supporting their development. Through an emphasis on daily activities we show how you can build relationships and promote development.

  • Course

    In this online course, you will learn about Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. We consider factors that contribute to FASD, our own biases towards children and families who may be impacted by FASD, the impact of FASD on young children’s development, and strategies for welcoming children with FASD into the classroom.

  • Course

    In this course, early childhood educators (ECE) will be provided an overview of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Hyperactive Disorders as they occur in the context of early childhood. ECEs will also be provided with strategies for engaging with and managing behavior of the individual child.

  • Course

    In this course, you will learn about infant mental health. We discuss key contributors and barriers in the infant mental health field, the role of early relationships for healthy brain development and self-regulation, infant stress signals, and why infant mental health matters in early childhood settings.

  • Course

    Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is the leading cause of death among babies between 1 and 12 months old. This course will help you learn how to create a safe sleep environment for infants, thus reducing the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, also called SIDS, and other sleep-related causes of death that affect infants.

  • Course

    In this course, you will learn about the impact of separation on infants and toddlers. We consider how separation relates to other developmental milestones. We consider how self-regulation and temperament impact children’s responses to separation, and strategies for helping children cope with separation.

  • Course

    There are many strategies that can be used to support the social emotional development of infants and toddlers. Strategies covered in this course include creating responsive routines, designing appropriate physical environments, and improving the emotional literacy of children in care.

  • Course

    Children with healthy self-esteem, compared to their peers with unhealthy self-esteem, tend to be happier, more confident in their abilities, and less afraid of failure. This course covers the concept of self-esteem, how to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy self-esteem, and how to foster children’s self-esteem.

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