“Developmentally appropriate practice requires both meeting children where they are—which means that teachers must get to know them well —and enabling them to reach goals that are both challenging and achievable.”
As a practitioner caring for children, it is your responsibility to seek out and intentionally plan the best opportunities for children that support their over-all well being and healthy development. The practices that you use when working with young children need to embrace the most current, effective approaches in learning and development. These can be described as best practices, thoughtful teaching, quality practices, or Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP). DAP comes from a deep history in early education, research, and what many describe as “good thinking.”
This Tip Sheet on Child Development Principles and DAP Decision-Making Tool (PDF) from Better Kid Care of PennState Extension lays out key messages from the NAEYC Position Statement, lists the child development principles that inform DAP, provides a brief decision-making tool to help guide in your implementation of DAP.