Early Childhood Development in Amarillo, Tx

A child's earliest years are filled with change. Babies begin recognizing voices and faces. Toddlers learn to move, communicate, solve simple problems, and explore their surroundings. As children get closer to school age, they continue building the social, emotional, physical, and learning skills they will use throughout life.

Early childhood development with Coalition of Health Services gives eligible families in Amarillo, Potter County, and Randall County access to education and family support during these important years. Through programs such as Highland Park Parents as Teachers, parents can learn more about their child's development while discovering practical ways to support learning at home.

What Is Early Childhood Development?

Early childhood development describes the many ways children grow and learn during their first years of life.

Development is about much more than getting taller or learning to walk. Children are also learning how to communicate, think, interact with other people, manage emotions, and understand the world around them.

Parents play an important role throughout this process.

A parent talking to a baby, reading with a toddler, or playing a simple game with a preschooler may not feel like formal education. Yet these everyday experiences can give children valuable opportunities to practice new skills.

Parents Are Their Child's First Teacher

Parents as Teachers, often called PAT, is built around the belief that parents are their children's first and most influential teachers.

Learning begins long before a child walks into a classroom.

Children watch the people around them. They listen to conversations, copy movements, explore objects, and begin making connections between their actions and what happens next.

Parents can encourage this natural curiosity through everyday activities.

Learning Through Everyday Experiences

Supporting early childhood development does not require turning the family home into a classroom.

For example, reading together introduces a child to words, sounds, pictures, and stories. Singing can help children recognize language patterns. Playing with blocks gives children opportunities to explore shapes, balance, and problem-solving.

Even normal household routines can become learning experiences.

A parent folding laundry with a preschooler might ask the child to match socks by color. A trip to the grocery store can include counting apples or naming different foods.

Parents as Teachers can help families recognize these simple learning opportunities.

Parents as Teachers in Amarillo, Texas

Highland Park Parents as Teachers is a free, evidence-based home visiting program serving eligible families in the Amarillo area.

Families must live in Potter County or Randall County and have a child between the prenatal stage and five years of age. There are no income restrictions for participation.

The program provides personal home visits, child screenings, group connections, and connections to community resources.

These services work together to support both parents and children.

Personal Home Visits

Personal visits give parents opportunities to learn about their child's current stage of development.

Parents may have questions about communication, behavior, learning, movement, or other developmental changes. Having someone available to discuss those questions can make child development information easier to understand.

Visits can also introduce parents to activities they can use with their children.

The goal is not to replace what parents are already doing. Instead, Parents as Teachers helps families build on the relationship and routines they already have.