A tool for early childhood professionals, this book describes developmentally appropriate practices for adults providing care and education services to young children. Part 1 of the guide presents the position statement of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) on developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs. Part 2 explores the early childhood teacher as decision maker. Discussions in this section include using knowledge of individual children and of social and cultural contexts to inform decision making, and resolving contradictions. Part 3 describes the vital development that takes place during the first 3 years of life and gives examples of appropriate and inappropriate practices for infants and toddlers. This part also includes a chart of developmental milestones of children from birth to age 3. Part 4 describes development and learning in children ages 3 through 5, and part 5 describes developmentally appropriate practice for 6- through 8-year-olds. These latter two sections also include examples of appropriate and inappropriate practices for their respective age groups. Contains 93 references. (HTH)