Support from the Start: The Power of Responsive Interactions in Supporting Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health

On Demand

Duration: 1 hour

What are the most effective, accessible, achievable ways to nurture infant and early childhood mental health/social and emotional well-being in young children? As anyone who has ever cared for a young child or talked to a stressed-out early educator or struggling parent well knows, this is a question that deserves a lot more attention.

ZERO TO THREE, the National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations, the Alliance for the Advancement of Infant Mental Health, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and other national organizations and initiatives work hard to raise awareness of infant and early childhood mental health in the first years of life. So, too, do psychologists, education researchers, and other scientists, who devote critical research projects to identifying the causes of infant and early childhood mental health difficulties and evaluating interventions to mitigate their risks.

In this webinar, a panel of experts and advocates will discuss a range of important questions around infant and early childhood mental health/social and emotional well-being/social-emotional learning (SEL):

• What role does a child’s environment play in social and emotional well-being?
• Within that environment, what role do responsive relationships with adults play?
• Within those responsive relationships, what role do conversational turns, or serve-and-return interactions, play?
• What are some innovative policy and advocacy efforts we can take to support infant and early childhood mental health?