What Do You Get With an NAEYC Membership?

Updated

NAEYC (the National Association for the Education of Young Children) is a professional association for people who work with children from birth through age 8, including teachers, program leaders, and higher education faculty. A membership gives you access to a set of benefits NAEYC organizes under five categories — Community, Advocacy, Resources, Events, and Support (CARES) — plus exclusive discounts and savings. It is most useful if you want ongoing professional resources, peer connection, and a voice in early childhood policy rather than a one-time purchase.

The CARES benefit categories

NAEYC describes member benefits as falling into five areas:

Category What it covers
Community Connection with other early childhood professionals
Advocacy A voice in shaping early childhood policy
Resources Research-based materials for your practice
Events Access to NAEYC events and conferences
Support Backing for educators and programs across the field

The association frames its overall work as supporting educators, strengthening programs, and shaping policy — the membership benefits map onto those three goals.

Examples of members-only content

NAEYC's site marks several current items as Members Only, which shows the kind of access a membership unlocks:

  • Registration for the Annual Conference 2026 in Washington, DC
  • The new Fall issue of Young Children (NAEYC's journal)
  • The 2026 NAEYC School District Leadership Cohort application
  • "Value. Voice. Vote." member programming
  • NAEYC's 100th anniversary member content

Members also get exclusive discounts and savings, according to NAEYC's membership page.

Beyond membership: what NAEYC offers the field

Membership sits inside a broader set of NAEYC services you may also care about:

  • Accreditation — meeting national standards of quality for programs
  • Professional development — research-based learning for educators
  • Publications — books and resources, such as the new title No Single Story: Amplifying the Voices of Asian American and Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander Early Educators
  • Conferences and events — connecting with peers and getting current research and best practices

How to join or renew

NAEYC's site has a "Join or Renew Your NAEYC Membership Today!" entry point marked Members Only. Use that link to start a new membership or renew an existing one. If you are unsure whether to join, weigh it against your goals:

  • Join if you want recurring resources (journal, books), event access, and advocacy involvement.
  • Skip or delay if you only need a single publication or one conference — those may be available outside membership.

NAEYC does not publish pricing on the pages reviewed here, so check the membership page directly for current dues and terms before deciding.