Adults may falsely believe that the resilience young children possess makes them immune to the effects of trauma and adversity and may, thus, miss important opportunities to intentionally support infant and toddler mental health. Studies have shown that early prevention and intervention services and systems yield far more positive and lasting effects than services implemented in later years. For this reason, prevention and intervention are key to promoting positive infant and early childhood mental health (IECMH).
To most effectively address the mental health of infants and toddlers, individuals must first understand the concept of IECMH. Mental health can be defined as one’s emotional and social well-being; it impacts how someone thinks, acts, and how they feel about themselves and others. Infant and early childhood mental health, specifically, is known as “the developing capacity of the child from birth to 5 years old to form close and secure adult and peer relationships; experience, manage, and express a full range of emotions; and explore the environment and learn—all in the context of family, community, and culture.”
At this age, the impact of adults is paramount to a child’s mental health. Infants and toddlers rely on adults to help them regulate and express their emotions. Through close, secure relationships with caregivers, infants and toddlers learn about others’ expectations and what they can expect from them in return. The field of IECMH also includes situations that put infants’ and toddlers’ social and emotional well-being at risk, behavioral indicators of struggle, and supports and interventions to protect infants’ and toddlers’ mental health.
Why is IECMH Important?
During the first few years of life, a child’s brain grows and develops rapidly. It is during this time that the foundation for how a child will relate to others and manage and express their emotions is laid. As a result, interventions during this period can be much more powerful and have more lasting effects than those that are implemented in later stages of development. With this in mind, it is critical that adults are aware of what IECMH is, know what affects it, understand the warning signs, and implement support strategies for IECMH.
What Factors Affect IECMH?
There are two main factors that influence an infant or toddler’s mental health—attachment and personal characteristics. An infant or toddler’s relationship with a caregiver yields the largest impact on their mental health. Humans are born to seek out others for emotional responsiveness; when this is not present (as a result of a variety of factors including parental stress, depression, lack of knowledge of how to appropriately respond, illness, homelessness, etc.), the child’s mental health is impacted. On the other hand, when a secure, responsive, predictable relationship is created, an infant and toddler experiences a sense of social-emotional well-being including an ability to effectively manage stress.
When it comes to a child’s temperament, the “goodness of fit” between their temperament and their environment plays the largest role. Ideally, a caregiver’s natural temperament and parenting >
The opinions expressed in Montessori Life are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the position of AMS.