Infant Mental Health
Promoting Mental Health
The Basics
Promotion of infant mental health is vital in ensuring that infants 0-2 develop effectively and maintain good mental health throughout their childhood.
The basics is a general starting point for parents and caregivers to help understand how to engage an infant in order to promote optimal mental health development. The following are some ways to engage your infant.
Respond to infant cues with comfort.
This helps aid in the development of trust.
Stay calm and stay with infants through discovery with objects and toys.
Make an effort to practice self-care and take time to reflect.
Share warm smiles with infants during daily routines.
This could include feeding, cleaning, and changing diapers.
Use facial expressions, gestures and verbal communication to respond to infants trying to communicate.
Avoid allowing infant to watch TV.
Screen time is not recommended for infants under the age of two! Screen time can negatively impact infants language development, short term memory, reading skills, sleep and attention.
Gently rock, hold and cuddle infants.
This often helps the infants feel safe and secure.
Take advantage of the resources in your community!
References
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