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For healthy happy babies toddlers good mental health is essential Mental health plays an important role in everyone s wellbeing especially for infants and toddlers So what is infant and toddler mental health
Infant and toddler mental health refers to how well a child develops socially and emotionally from birth to three Why is this important Infant and toddler mental health affects the child s ability to form close and secure adult and peer relationships experience manage and express a full range of emotions and explore their environments and learn Problems with behavioral and emotional regulation can be observed in the first 2 3 months of life as can attachment disorders problems with regulation of behavior and emotions and other developmental difficulties Babies and toddlers can show signs of depression including inconsolable crying slow growth and sleep problems
1 in 5 children have a diagnosable mental disorder Factors that predict mental health problems can be identified in the early years 75 to 80 of children and youth in need of mental health services do not receive them Infant and toddler mental health is crucial to development Untreated mental health disorders can have detrimental effects on children s functioning and future outcomes
Understanding infant and toddler mental health is the key to preventing and treating the mental health problems of very young children In the first three years a child s brain has up to twice as many synapses as it will have in adulthood Early life experiences change how brains are built The experiences children have in the earliest years of life affects physical and mental health across the lifespan The foundations for healthy development include sufficient nutrition a safe environment and warm supportive interactions with caregivers
Increased training in infant and early childhood mental health is necessary Mental health problems are both treatable and preventable especially in very young children Today risk factors have been identified developmental pathways are much better understood and methods to identify children at risk are continually being improved
How VAITSN can help Our Infant and Toddler Mental Health Consultants ITMHC work regionally throughout the state to provide on site coaching mentoring parent education training and technical assistance as well as child observations and developmental screenings We promote infant and toddler mental wellness by providing training and coaching on social emotional development and screening of infants and toddlers We help prevent mental health issues by providing in classroom assessments and consultations on implementing strategies that promote the positive social emotional development of infants and toddlers Lastly we focus on intervention by providing on site consultation to address specific issues related to individual children who are experiencing challenging behaviors
Childcare providers may learn how to foster social emotional development strengthen responsive and nurturing relationships and handle a young child s emotions and challenging behaviors as well as promote staff wellness and team building Infants and toddlers may learn how to express and regulate emotions follow directions solve problems develop positive relationships and focus on tasks The long term goals are to assist children in developing secure attachments preparing for academic success and preventing challenging behavior and later mental health issues For additional information contact Dawn Wimbush ITMH Supervisor at 877 236 8821 1 or dawnw cdr org
virginia infant toddler specialist network Child Development Resources P O Box 280 Norge VA 23127 877 236 8821 va itsnetwork org The Virginia Infant Toddler Specialist Network is a program of Child Development Resources and is supported by the Virginia Department of Social Services VDSS Grant 93 575 with funds made available to Virginia from the U S Department of Health and Human Services