The experiences that a child has in their first five years of life are pivotal for lifelong health and wellbeing. The science clearly shows that positive relationships and protective factors can buffer the impacts of early adversity.
What are Protective Factors?
(For more information click here to see a downloadable trauma-sensitive toolkit for parents and caregivers)
- Parental Resilience
- Nurturing and Attachment
- Social Connections
- Concrete Supports
- Knowledge of Parenting and Child Development
- Social and Emotional Competence of Children
The Early Years Matter
A child’s brain creates 1 million new neural conections per second in the first five years
Click here to connect to COBI (Center for Optimal Brain Integration)
Click here to go to the Harvard Center on the Developing Child
Click here for the Zero to Three website
Why do the early years matter?
- Rapid brain growth is occurring
- Learning happens as the brain develops synapses and neural pathways
- A more complex brain will better a child’s ability to engage in cognitive and social skills
- A child’s experiences, environment and relationships shape brain growth and ability to learn
- Positive relationships with stable caregivers support optimal development
- Toxic stress, trauma and instability can interfere with brain growth
- Relationships, mindfulness practices and other resilency strategies can mitigate and heal the affects of stress and trauma on the brain