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Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health
Increasing attention is being placed in the medical and public space on the mental health of infants and young children. Among mental health providers, infant mental health generally refers to children 3 years of age and younger, while early childhood mental health refers to children ages 3-5. This contrasts…
Handout
How to Help Families and Staff Build Resilience During the Covid-19 Outbreak
What can we do to build up and strengthen resilience during the COVID-19 outbreak? How can we build resilience to plan ahead for future times of crisis? This resource, with practical tips and suggestions for providers looking to support caregivers and each other, presents three science-based ways that we can…
Third Party Link
How to Motivate Children: Science-Based Approaches for Parents, Caregivers, and Teachers
How to Motivate Children: Science-Based Approaches for Parents, Caregivers, and Teachers…
Third Party Link
A Guide to Toxic Stress
This area of the website for the Center on the Developing Child provides a collection of resources for understanding toxic stress and resilience. A Guide to Toxic Stress…
Third Party Link
A Guide to Serve and Return: How Your Interaction with Children Can Build Brains
This page contains a collection of resources about the concept of “serve and return” interactions. It includes an introduction to the basics of serve and return and the science behind it and includes videos that can be shared with caregivers about how serve and return interactions build brains. For…
Third Party Link
Building Adult Capabilities to Improve Child Outcomes: A Theory of Change
Building Adult Capabilities to Improve Child Outcomes: A Theory of Change…
Brief
InBrief: The Foundations of Lifelong Health
This brief summarizes essential scientific findings from the Center publications, “The Foundations of Lifelong Health Are Built in Early Childhood”.
Reading
The Foundations of Lifelong Health Are Built in Early Childhood
This report from the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child and the National Forum on Early Childhood Policy and Programs explains how the earliest years lay the groundwork for lifelong health. When children have positive early experiences, they strengthen their developing biological systems and are more likely to thrive and become…
Working Paper
Maternal Depression Can Undermine the Development of Young Children
This working paper from the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child and the National Forum on Early Childhood Policy and Programs examines why addressing the consequences of serious depression in parents and caregivers could support the future prosperity and well-being of both children and society as a whole.
Reading
Strategies for Effectively Communicating about Toxic Stress
This guide from the Frameworks Institute provides suggestions on how to frame conversations with caregivers who may have experienced toxic stress themselves. It makes 5 key framing suggestions that can help providers to highlight resilience, reduce caregiver guilt and raise the public health nature of the problem of toxic stress.
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The Lifelong Effects of Early Childhood Adversity and Toxic Stress
Read the article at the American Academy of Pediatrics.
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Early Childhood Adversity, Toxic Stress, and the Role of the Pediatrician: Translating Developmental Science into Lifelong Health
Read the article at the American Academy of Pediatrics.
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Capitalizing on Advances in Science to Reduce the Health Consequences of Early Childhood Adversity
Read the article at JAMA Network.
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Early Childhood Adversity, Toxic Stress, and the Impacts of Racism on the Foundations of Health
Read the article at Annual Reviews.
Working Paper
The Science of Neglect: The Persistent Absence of Responsive Care Disrupts the Developing Brain
Third Party Link
Establishing a Level Foundation for Life: Mental Health Begins in Early Childhood
Establishing a Level Foundation for Life: Mental Health Begins in Early Childhood…
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Genes, Environments, and Time: The Biology of Adversity and Resilience
This February 2021 article by Tom Boyce, Pat Levitt, Fernando Martinez, Bruce McEwen and Jack Shonkoff article in the journal Pediatrics is one of two companion pieces. The article uses a gene-environment-time framework to look at the roles of genetic variation, environmental context, and developmental timing as they relate to…
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Leveraging the Biology of Adversity and Resilience to Transform Pediatric Practice
This February 2021 article by Jack P. Shonkoff, Thomas Boyce, Pat Levitt, Fernando D. Martinez and Bruce McEwen is one of two companion pieces in the journal Pediatrics. The article highlights how the different outcomes experienced by children are shaped by ongoing adaptations to context that begin very early and…
Working Paper
Supportive Relationships and Active Skill-Building Strengthen the Foundations of Resilience
This working paper from the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child explains how supportive relationships with adults help children develop resilience, or the set of skills needed to respond to adversity and thrive.
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Building Babies’ Brains Through Play: Mini Parenting Master Class
Building Babies’ Brains Through Play: Mini Parenting Master Class…
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Stress and Resilience: How Toxic Stress Affects Us, and What We Can Do About It
Stress and Resilience: How Toxic Stress Affects Us, and What We Can Do About It…
Third Party Link
FrameWorks: Changing the Childhood Obesity Conversation to Improve Children’s Health
Third Party Link
FrameWorks: Reframing Children’s Mental Health
Read the article at the Frameworks Institute…
Reading
Special Considerations for Children in Foster Care
Children in foster care commonly face adversity far exceeding that of typical childhood. All children experience tolerable, temporary stressors as a normal part of learning and growing, such as a first day in a new school or performing on stage in front of an audience. These experiences are healthy and…