This accessible book focuses on the emotional needs, experiences and development of young children, exploring the role of the practitioner in ensuring that each and every child feels loved, supported and safe; able to develop secure attachments and flourish in the first five years and beyond. Drawing upon neuro-scientific research and referencing key theories relating to attachment, and health and wellbeing, the book examines the responsibilities of the early years practitioner in supporting children to reach their full potential. The response of the adult to the emotional needs of individual children is analysed in detail, and the impacts of various experiences, cultures and contexts on a child’s emotional wellbeing are considered. With topics including safeguarding, communication, the physical environment, neurological development and Attachment Theory, readers will: learn how to respond appropriately to individual children extend their role as a Key Person and their position in a multi-professional team increase their understanding of the interaction between home and childcare settings reflect on the importance of in-depth observation, the environment and quality of care provided in their settings. Supported by rich case studies, provocations and examples of good practice to encourage reflection and improve future practice, Understanding the Emotional Needs of Children in the Early Years is an engaging and comprehensive guide for all early years practitioners, early years students and professionals including paediatric nurses, health visitors and social workers.

Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and the education of young children bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Despite the fact that they share the same objective - to nurture young children and secure their future success - the various practitioners who contribute to the care and the education of children from birth through age 8 are not acknowledged as a workforce unified by the common knowledge and competencies needed to do their jobs well. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 explores the science of child development, particularly looking at implications for the professionals who work with children. This report examines the current capacities and practices of the workforce, the settings in which they work, the policies and infrastructure that set qualifications and provide professional learning, and the government agencies and other funders who support and oversee these systems. This book then makes recommendations to improve the quality of professional practice and the practice environment for care and education professionals. These detailed recommendations create a blueprint for action that builds on a unifying foundation of child development and early learning, shared knowledge and competencies for care and education professionals, and principles for effective professional learning. Young children thrive and learn best when they have secure, positive relationships with adults who are knowledgeable about how to support their development and learning and are responsive to their individual progress. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 offers guidance on system changes to improve the quality of professional practice, specific actions to improve professional learning systems and workforce development, and research to continue to build the knowledge base in ways that will directly advance and inform future actions. The recommendations of this book provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the care and the education that children receive, and ultimately improve outcomes for children.

Teach social skills and enrich classrooms to reduce problem behaviors and nurture growth. When teachers create environments that teach skills rather than punish individual actions, they reduce behavior problems and nurture the growth of all learners. This book expertly guides early childhood teachers to analyze their classroom elements, routines, and responses to children. Much like gardeners who adjust soil, water, or fertilizer to help flowers bloom, educators of young children must look beyond challenging behaviors to what a child’s actions are communicating about her learning environment or home life. Digital content includes all forms from the book along with a PDF presentation. A free PLC/Book Study Guide for use with communities of practice is available at freespirit.com/PLC.

The ability to express, understand, and regulate emotions is a crucial element in individual functioning and interpersonal interaction. This important volume presents a fresh look at early child development by exploring the very beginnings of emotional competence in young children. What do toddlers and preschoolers understand about their own and other people's feelings? What are the connections between emotions, socialization, and healthy relationships? How do changes in other areas of development, like cognition, fuel emotional competencies? What problems ensue when emotional development is delayed, and how can they be ameliorated? Including numerous case studies, original findings, and an extensive review of the literature, the book sheds light on the emotional experience of the very young and points toward exciting directions for future research.

Decades of research have demonstrated that the parent-child dyad and the environment of the familyâ€"which includes all primary caregiversâ€"are at the foundation of children's well- being and healthy development. From birth, children are learning and rely on parents and the other caregivers in their lives to protect and care for them. The impact of parents may never be greater than during the earliest years of life, when a child's brain is rapidly developing and when nearly all of her or his experiences are created and shaped by parents and the family environment. Parents help children build and refine their knowledge and skills, charting a trajectory for their health and well-being during childhood and beyond. The experience of parenting also impacts parents themselves. For instance, parenting can enrich and give focus to parents' lives; generate stress or calm; and create any number of emotions, including feelings of happiness, sadness, fulfillment, and anger. Parenting of young children today takes place in the context of significant ongoing developments. These include: a rapidly growing body of science on early childhood, increases in funding for programs and services for families, changing demographics of the U.S. population, and greater diversity of family structure. Additionally, parenting is increasingly being shaped by technology and increased access to information about parenting. Parenting Matters identifies parenting knowledge, attitudes, and practices associated with positive developmental outcomes in children ages 0-8; universal/preventive and targeted strategies used in a variety of settings that have been effective with parents of young children and that support the identified knowledge, attitudes, and practices; and barriers to and facilitators for parents' use of practices that lead to healthy child outcomes as well as their participation in effective programs and services. This report makes recommendations directed at an array of stakeholders, for promoting the wide-scale adoption of effective programs and services for parents and on areas that warrant further research to inform policy and practice. It is meant to serve as a roadmap for the future of parenting policy, research, and practice in the United States.

Solve toddler challenges with eight key mindshifts that will help you parent with clarity, calmness, and self-control. In Why is My Child in Charge?, Claire Lerner shows how making critical mindshifts—seeing children’s behaviors through a new lens —empowers parents to solve their most vexing childrearing challenges. Using real life stories, Lerner unpacks the individualized process she guides parents through to settle common challenges, such as throwing tantrums in public, delaying bedtime for hours, refusing to participate in family mealtimes, and resisting potty training. Lerner then provides readers with a roadmap for how to recognize the root cause of their child’s behavior and how to create and implement an action plan tailored to the unique needs of each child and family. Why is My Child in Charge? is like having a child development specialist in your home. It shows how parents can develop proven, practical strategies that translate into adaptable, happy kids and calm, connected, in-control parents.

How we raise young children is one of today's most highly personalized and sharply politicized issues, in part because each of us can claim some level of "expertise." The debate has intensified as discoveries about our development-in the womb and in the first months and years-have reached the popular media. How can we use our burgeoning knowledge to assure the well-being of all young children, for their own sake as well as for the sake of our nation? Drawing from new findings, this book presents important conclusions about nature-versus-nurture, the impact of being born into a working family, the effect of politics on programs for children, the costs and benefits of intervention, and other issues. The committee issues a series of challenges to decision makers regarding the quality of child care, issues of racial and ethnic diversity, the integration of children's cognitive and emotional development, and more. Authoritative yet accessible, From Neurons to Neighborhoods presents the evidence about "brain wiring" and how kids learn to speak, think, and regulate their behavior. It examines the effect of the climate-family, child care, community-within which the child grows.

Learn how to reach children who need special help. Almost anyone who works with 3- to 6-year-olds knows what it feels like to spend time with youngsters who are particularly puzzling or hard to help. When Young Children Need Help examines how early childhood educators can make sense of what is going on for such children and then use that understanding to help promote growth and mastery. Written for child care center staff, family child care providers, preschool teachers, and pre-service teachers, this book can be useful to any adult who wants to learn more about reaching the most troubling children in his or her care. When Young Children Need Help provides a framework for understanding a range of emotional, behavioral, and developmental challenges. It explores a process through which early childhood teachers and providers can translate their growing understanding of a child’s difficulties into sensible goals for intervention. The author lays out practical strategies that help kids connect and communicate with ease, focus their attention, manage their bodies and their feelings, engage in constructive problem-solving, and experience themselves as successful friends and learners. The book suggests approaches for collaborating with parents and other caregivers and emphasizes that even when a child needs outside services and supports, what goes on in school or care remains central to making progress. Ranging from the classroom to the playground and back again, When Young Children Need Help offers its perspectives and strategies through highly engaging stories that bring challenging kids alive in all their quirky uniqueness.

A large segment of the population struggles with feelings of being detached from themselves and their loved ones. They feel flawed, and blame themselves. Running on Empty will help them realize that they're suffering not because of something that happened to them in childhood, but because of something that didn't happen. It's the white space in their family picture, the background rather than the foreground. This will be the first self-help book to bring this invisible force to light, educate people about it, and teach them how to overcome it.

This book is a practical guide to developing resilient learners by equipping educators with trauma informed practices and behaviour support strategies.