Infant Mental Health
"The quality, style and responsiveness of the adult to the baby's cues for help, nurture, comfort and support will all profoundly influence those early patterns[of brain development]. We must also remember two other important factors about these interactions. Firstly, not only do they influence the child's emotional well being, but they also impact on the child's communication and learning development. Secondly, these interactions are within a context of the overall patterns of growth and development of every child and so they will also influence how later patterns of development emerge." From Forward to The Northamptonshire Baby Room Project© by Maria Robinson, 2009
Babies and infants mental health are greatly affected by the level of emotional resilience and mental health of the adults caring for them.
Babies suffer when there is shouting, violence and fear surrounding them.
Babies suffer when they are ignored.
Emotional Milestones
Babies crave interaction with responsive, loving and nurturing people.
Did you know...?
Did you know that the brain of a three year old who is persistently and significantly abused is smaller in size and weight than a three year old who has had caring, loving nurturing relationships.
Research by Robin Balbernie shows how extreme neglect means there is negligible development in the temporal lobe area of the brain which governs expression and processing of emotion: brain will not regenerate where grey matter has atrophied. Some limited compensation possible.
