This manual presents guidelines for users of the Child Development Assessment Form (CDAF) -- a 90 item checklist of behaviors characteristic of children from birth to 3 years of age. The CDAF is designed to help parents and teachers identify skills and behaviors that the child has developed and plan learning experiences that facilitate growth. The manual is presented in two units. The first unit describes how to use the CDAF and presents an overview of the child developmental stages in order to provide users of the guide with a better understanding of the child assessment process. Since nutrition is a vital part of the development of the young child, an overview of nutrition is also included in the first unit. The second unit presents a detailed description of the CDAF. Each of the CDAF's 90 behavioral items is classified into one of four broad developmental areas: social-emotional, language, cognitive, and gross and fine motor development. Each item is then discussed in terms of its developmental significance (i.e. the importance of each item), task description (i.e. how to observe each behavior), and suggested objectives and learning activities for the child who has not mastered specific behaviors. A sample profile is presented in the last chapter of the manual to demonstrate how to use the results of the CDAF in developing an educational plan. (A usable copy of the CDAF is included with the manual.) (Author/MP)