SAN DIEGO -- First-time mothers discover that it takes more than reading a book to know how raise a toddler, which is why Children's Hospital offers a free class called, "Learning and Growing Together," to North County children and their parents.

The Oceanside classroom is packed with new experiences for toddlers. There are balls to play with and tunnels to crawl through.

A teacher helps the children and parents explore.

"The point of this class is for the children to experience, explore and experiment in the environment and to experience themselves as capable and intelligent and for the parents to get to see that," said Catherine Dickerson, developmental specialist.

Dickerson offers each mom a running commentary explaining why her child acts the way he does.

"All toddlers and preschoolers enter the bug stage and that's why I always have some. They're so interested in how the world works," Dickerson said.

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Class Helps Families Develop Together

She also teaches parents how to guide their children's development.

"Catherine has shown us through these classes (that) you know where he is right now so that when we go home I can set up the house and have different types of projects and toys for him that he can use right now because that's where he is developmentally at the moment," said Sheila Clarke, a mother taking the class.

Giving toddlers a chance to explore, to try things on their own and even to clean up their own messes will help prepare them for the challenges of kindergarten, 10News reported.

""This really builds on their confidence, their sense of, 'I can. I see something that's interesting. I can go. I can figure it out. I can do something and if something happens, I can take care of it,'" Dickerson said.

The class is also a confidence builder for moms.

"We're both learning and growing together in these classes," Clarke said.

Dickerson said parents need to go at their child's pace by letting the child decide what to explore, rather than directing the child.

For more information about the class, visit the Children's Hospital Web site at www.chsd.org.