A Focus on Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health

January 2023
Attachment
This newsletter focuses on sharing information on infant/early childhood mental health and
the importance of relationship-based approaches and supports that help infants and young children feel safe, supported, and valued by the adults around them. The newsletter, and the Infant Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMHC) program, is made possible by a partnership between the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) and the Pennsylvania Key.
Happy New Year! Beginning in January, the IECMH Consultation team will explore the most common reasons requests for services are submitted to the team. The areas of concern are attachment, self-regulation, communication, aggression, and interaction. This issue of the newsletter will cover attachment and the various ways attachment shows up in children and adults.

According to the Institute of Child Psychology, “A child’s attachment to his or her primary caregiver speaks to more than just a relationship. It is a deep and enduring emotional bond which serves to guide the child as he navigates new relationships, new experiences, and new learnings.” All people, especially children, need to feel safe, seen, soothed, and secure to build securely attached relationships. In this issue, we explore how to build strong, positive relationships, as well as how to repair relationships that have experienced rupture.

As educator Rita Pierson said, “Every child deserves a champion- an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection, and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be.”
We share this opportunity to join the Infant Early Childhood Mental Health team as a IECMH Consultant. Available is a printable flyer and a request to please share this employment opportunity within your community. Thank you for your role in supporting the mental health of Pennsylvania's youngest learners!
Observation with Purpose: Attachment and Teacher-Child Relationships | Better Kid Care: Children’s relationships with their significant caregivers are the primary means for fostering healthy social and emotional development. This module introduces research and information focused on the attachment relationship, with special emphasis on observing and documenting teacher-child relationship quality to support positive outcomes for children. (3 hours)
Secure attachments with their parent and caregiver are essential to children from an early age, and continued nurturing of those relationships are vital for good emotional and psychological health.
 
Early Years Resources: Secure Attachment 3:05 | BC Foster Parents Association: A consultant favorite! Research shows that children who have a secure attachment with at least one adult in their life enjoy greater overall health, do better in school and go on to have more fulfilling and enduring relationships throughout life. Learn more about the importance of secure attachments in this video.
 
What you should know about Attachment Styles | Very Well Mind: Attachment is an emotional bond that impacts behavior throughout life. Learn more about the different styles of attachment and the role they play.
 
Attachment: What works? | Center on the Social and Emotional Foundation for Early Learning: The National Center for Effective Mental Health Consultation (CEMHC) addresses the needs of staff and families for practical guidance to promote attachment security.
Providing a safe, secure environment for infants in which all needs are met in a way that allows babies to develop strong attachment will benefit them not just during infancy but in later years as well.
 
Crying Babies: Answering the Call of Infant Cries | Child Care Quarterly: The way caregivers respond to an infant’s cries can set into motion either a positive or an unstable foundation for future development. 
 
What is Secure Attachment and Bonding? | Help Guide: There is confusion about bonding and secure attachment. The words bond or bonding are commonly used to describe both caretaking and the emotional exchange that forms the attachment process, even though they are very different ways of connecting with a child.
Secure attachment relationships correlate strongly with higher academic attainment, better self-regulation and social competence.
 
Keys to Building Attachment with Young Children | North Dakota State University Extension Service: Strategies adults can use to work toward the formation of strong, secure attachments with young children.
 
Children’s Relationships and How They Manifest in the Classroom | Institute of Child Psychology: Safe, loving, predictable relationships create an anchor for a child where they can begin to explore who they want to be in the world. Teachers can BE this relationship for a child.
Educators must establish attachment-like relationships with their students, particularly with challenging and vulnerable children and young people, in order to improve their chances of learning and achieving.
 
Attachment Aware Schools 8:18 | The ARC: Most children and young people enjoy life and are successful in school and in relationships. This lasts into adult life. But a significant minority struggle from an early stage and especially in adolescence.
 
Dr. Dan Siegels 4 S’s of Attachment – How they can help us in the classroom | Life Skills Group: Research shows that children benefit from multiple healthy attachments. And those they form with educators, who shape our next generation by leading their learning and development, are crucially important.
By using these strategies and activities, families can increase their child’s comfort level and gain their child’s trust through fun interactions and healthier attachment.
 
Activities to Promote Resilience in Infants and Toddlers: Focusing on the protective factor of Attachment/Relationships | Center for Resilient Child: Attachment/Relationships refers to the ongoing, emotional connection a child builds over time with a familiar adult through nurturing interaction. Here are three ways that parents and families can help their infant or toddler build this protective factor. 
 
Activities to Promote Resilience in Preschoolers: Focusing on the protective factor of Attachment/Relationships | Center for Resilient Child: Attachment/Relationships refers to a child’s ability to promote and maintain mutual, positive connections with other children and significant adults. Here are three ways that parents and families can help their preschooler build this protective factor.

The Eight Ideals of Attachment Parenting for the School-age Child | Attachment Parenting International: Attachment parenting focuses on the nurturing connection that parents can develop with their children. It doesn’t stop when children grow into big kids. Read some key features of attachment parenting of older children.
IECMH Consultation helps adults strengthen their relationships with young children and build capacity to respond to children’s social-emotional needs. IECMHC can help reduce caregiver stress, as well as increase caregivers’ reflective practice skills.
 
IECMH Consultants are available by appointment to provide IECMHC Virtual Office Hours consultation via telephone or video conference. IECMHC Virtual Office Hours is a short-term, collaborative, problem-solving conversation to help you find next steps for: Child Social-Emotional Concerns | Child Behavioral or Developmental Concerns Emotional Well-being of Teachers and Caregivers | Partnering with Families.
 
Appointments are held on the first and third Fridays of the month, or other days/times by request. Get more info.
The Pennsylvania Key has streamlined the process for Keystone STARS programs to request Infant Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMHC). Child care providers can request services by using the Request for Service Form (PDF). Completed forms can be submitted via email PAIECMH@pakeys.org or faxed to 717-213-3749.
 
Programs and families can contact the program leadership directly at PAIECMH@pakeys.org with questions or concerns.
With the generous support of the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL), the Pennsylvania Key IECMH Consultation team was able to add staff member, Lauren Walter, to support School Age Child Care (SACC) programs participating in Keystone STARS.  This service will be primarily tele-consultation support. Click here to request support.  
Share your feedback! We'd like to hear what you think about infant early childhood mental health. Are there resources you'd like to see? Questions you have? Tell us! Send your feedback to PAIECMH@pakeys.org.