The Importance of the Caregiver-Child Relationship for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health

This presentation will guide the participant though the neuroscience of early relationships and how they can impact child wellbeing. We will conduct a deep dive into how relationships between adults and children develop and how relationships can provide the necessary ingredients for meeting a child’s core need to feel safe and secure. When these core needs are met the child is set on a trajectory of positive emotional, social, and physical health, when these core needs are not met the children begin to struggle in multiple areas of life. It is through relationships with adults, that are attuned and responsive to the child’s need for security, that enable a child to grow and develop in healthy ways. We will explore how those working in the child welfare system can support parents and caregivers in meeting children’s social and emotional needs.