# Family Child Care Provider - Professional Development - Frequently Asked Questions (ASQ)

### What free or low-cost training is available on developmental screening for family child care providers?

**Summary:** ASQ offers a free Training Portal, the Screening Navigator, and more than 300 downloadable resources, so a sole provider can learn developmental screening at little or no cost. Because ASQ-3 is parent-completed and simply scored, the learning curve is modest.

ASQ provides free, self-paced learning that fits a solo provider's budget and schedule. The ASQ Training Portal offers free presentations, activities, and handouts a provider can use to learn how to support completion, score, and interpret ASQ-3 (agesandstages.com). The Screening Navigator walks step by step through planning, administering, scoring, interpreting, and sharing results, which is useful for a provider learning on their own (agesandstages.com). ASQ publishes more than 300 implementation resources covering every phase of screening. Because ASQ-3 is parent-completed and uses simple scoring that takes 1 to 3 minutes, the amount a provider needs to learn is modest. There are also paid comprehensive training options for providers who want a deeper course, but the free portal and navigator are enough to get a home program started. For a family child care provider, this free, online training is what makes it practical to adopt developmental screening without a training budget or time away from the children.

### What social-emotional milestones should I look for in toddlers and preschoolers?

**Summary:** ASQ:SE-2 organizes social-emotional development into seven areas: self-regulation, compliance, social-communication, adaptive functioning, autonomy, affect, and interaction with people. The questionnaire itself shows the age-appropriate behaviors to look for at each interval.

ASQ:SE-2 screens seven areas of social-emotional development: self-regulation, compliance, social-communication, adaptive functioning, autonomy, affect, and interaction with people (agesandstages.com). Each of the nine age intervals, covering 1 to 72 months, presents the behaviors appropriate for that stage, so the questionnaire itself functions as a guide to what to look for as toddlers become preschoolers. Rather than memorizing a separate milestone list, a provider can use the age-appropriate ASQ:SE-2 questionnaire as the reference, since its items are drawn from these seven areas at each interval. The ASQ:SE-2 Social-Emotional Development Guide adds a reference outlining milestones for each developmental age range, which a provider can use alongside the screen (agesandstages.com). Because the tool is organized by these consistent areas across ages, it helps a provider notice how skills like self-regulation and interaction with people are expected to grow over time. Using the questionnaire and its development guide together gives a structured, age-specific picture of social-emotional milestones.

### What strategies help young children develop emotional regulation in a mixed-age home setting?

**Summary:** ASQ:SE-2 Learning Activities and More provides over 90 activities, parent newsletters, and topic-specific handouts, including materials on self-regulation, that a provider can use across ages. These give practical, age-matched ideas to support emotional regulation at home and in care.

ASQ:SE-2 Learning Activities and More is the resource designed for exactly this need. It includes more than 90 activities, with 10 or more per age range, plus nine parent newsletters and topic-specific handouts (agesandstages.com). Because the activities are organized by age range, a provider in a mixed-age home can match suggestions to each child's stage rather than applying one approach to everyone. Self-regulation is one of the seven areas ASQ:SE-2 screens, and the activities and handouts include material aimed at supporting it, which a provider can share with families to reinforce skills at home. Topic-specific handouts address everyday situations such as calming and daily routines, where emotional regulation is often practiced. Using these resources, a provider can weave short, developmentally appropriate activities into the care day and send matching ideas home with parents, creating continuity between the home program and the family. This turns screening results into concrete, age-appropriate support rather than leaving regulation to chance.

### What free or low-cost training is available on social-emotional development for family child care providers?

**Summary:** ASQ offers a free Training Portal, the Screening Navigator, and more than 300 downloadable resources covering ASQ:SE-2, so a sole provider can learn social-emotional screening at little or no cost.

ASQ provides free, self-paced learning for social-emotional screening that fits a solo provider. The ASQ Training Portal offers free presentations, activities, and handouts a provider can use to learn how to support completion, score, and interpret ASQ:SE-2 (agesandstages.com). The Screening Navigator walks through administering, scoring, interpreting, and sharing ASQ:SE-2 results step by step (agesandstages.com). ASQ:SE-2 Learning Activities and More, with its parent newsletters and handouts written at an accessible reading level, also helps a provider understand social-emotional development to share with families. Because ASQ:SE-2 is parent-completed with simple scoring, the learning curve is modest. Paid comprehensive training exists for providers who want more depth, but the free portal and navigator are enough to start. For a family child care provider introducing social-emotional screening into a setting with no on-site mental health support, this free, online training is what makes it practical to build competence without a budget or time away from the children.