supporters & partners
Early Years
All children are born to grow, to develop, to live, to love, and to articulate their needs and feelings for their self-protection.”
Alice Miller
What are the Early Years?
Early years are the years that occur in child’s development from 0-5. From the outside, we see children over this age range developing early emotions and learning how to respond, react to, and understand the world around them. On the inside a child’s brain is rapidly developing, increasing in size and creating a network of things called synapses (which are parts of the brain that communicate with each other, just like how two phones might connect to each other in a network). This is a critical moment in brain development as synapses at this age are malleable displaying something called “plasticity” (more readily adaptive to changes) as a child continues to develop these synapses become less plastic with weaker connections being lost (in a process known as synaptic pruning). It is through this synaptic pruning we start developing our own personalities, interests and internal worlds.
The NSPCC has a great video that can you learn more how the brain develops at this early age.
Why are the Early Years so important in regards to mental health?
It may seem too early to be thinking about mental health & wellbeing in children this young however early years development plays a key role in determining mental health and well-being throughout childhood. Very young children develop through their interactions with the world and the people they form attachments with. The NSPCC have another great video here in which they use the metaphor of “Serve and Return” to explain how interactions support early brain development.
If we think about mental health as building a wonderful statue of ourselves, or others, then the early years form the solid foundation that underpins the ongoing work we do throughout our lives to construct and manage good mental health.
What are the signs of poor emotional well being?
Supporting an early years child’s emotional wellbeing can be challenging as depending on their age and language development which can limit their ability to communicate their emotions. As a child develops and begins to act out their feelings they can often display negative emotions and behaviour as a normal part of this process. However, if these negative emotions and behaviours are displayed frequently and repeatably, they could be indicating that they are struggling with their emotional health. Some children who find it difficult to interact and communicate with those around them may find the only way they can communicate is by displaying anger or being frustrated.
We’ve pulled together information on some of the key areas to focus here at the early stages of a child’s development so take look to through to learn bit more about how you can support young people to develop into healthy happy children.
Resources for Early Years
( resources found)
Audience
Location
Resource type:
7 ways to support children and young people who are worried (Anna Freud Centre)
Find out moreShyness and Social Anxiety (Moodjuice)
Find out moreHelping Someone Else (Anna Freud Centre)
Find out moreHelping Traumatized Children Learn (Trauma Sensitive Schools)
Find out moreLiving with Neurological Symptoms in Childhood (Neurokid)
Find out moreDevelopmental Trauma Close Up (Beacon House)
Find out moreSchool Exclusions (Autism Education Trust)
Find out moreChild Trauma Toolkit for Educators (NCTSN)
Find out moreWhat is Complex Trauma? (National Child Traumatic Health Network)
Find out moreAutism at Home (Nottingham Council)
Find out moreMaking Sense of Sensory Behaviour (Falkirk Council)
Find out moreDealing with Distress (Get Self Help)
Find out moreDo you worry about going to school? (Sussex Council)
Find out moreEmotionally Based School Avoidance (Sussex Council)
Find out moreMindful Coloring (Between Sessions)
Find out moreDepression keeping hope alive (Aware)
Find out moreA Parent’s Guide to Depression (Charlie Waller Trust)
Find out morePromoting Emotional Resilience (Sussex Partnership Foundation Trust)
Find out moreIdeas, Tips and Strategies for Parents of Preschoolers (Psychology Foundation)
Find out moreCoping with life’s stressors
Find out moreEmotional Regulation (SRHD)
Find out moreLiving with worry and anxiety amidst global uncertainty (Psychology Tools)
Find out moreProblem Solving (Talk Plus)
Find out moreHelping Parents and Children Increase Emotional Intelligence (Therapy Change)
Find out moreCognitive Behavioural Therapy- An Information Guide (CAMH)
Find out moreKeeping Your Cool (NSPCC)
Find out moreAnxiety- Moodjuice Self-help Guide (Moodjuice)
Find out moreEnhancing Resilience (Exeter University)
Find out moreUnderstanding Autism (National Autistic Society)
Find out morePositive Parenting (NSPCC)
Find out moreChildren and Young People with Anxiety (Anxiety UK)
Find out moreBuilding Resilience in Children aged 0-12 (Beyond Blue)
Find out moreAnger – Moodjuice Self-help Guide (Moodjuice)
Find out moreHow to Manage and Reduce Stress (Mental Health Foundation)
Find out moreAll about ADHD (Mental Health Foundation)
Find out moreAn Introductory Self-Help Course in CBT (Get Self Help)
Find out moreBuilding Resilience in Young Children (Health Nexus Sante)
Find out moreTrauma and Young People (The Children’s Society)
Find out moreThe Good-Night Guide for Children (The Sleep Council)
Find out moreCoping with Self-harm (Researchers at the University of Oxford)
Find out moreIssues with Self-Esteem? (Wellbeing Service, South Glasgow)
Find out moreI Gotta Feeling – Top Tips for Feeling Good (Evidence Based Practice Unit, Anna Freud Centre)
Find out moreAnger Iceberg (Breathe Education)
Find out moreCoping strategy cards (Breathe Education)
Find out moreMy Emotions Graph (Breathe Education)
Find out moreSharing the Brain Story – Early Development (NSPCC)
Find out moreYouth Mental Health Research (Breathe Education)
Find out moreAnxiety (Breathe Education)
Find out moreAnxiety: A teacher’s companion guide (Breathe Education)
Find out moreEmotional Regulation: A teacher’s companion guide (Breathe Education)
Find out moreEmotional Regulation (Breathe Education)
Find out moreMeerkat, Elephant & Owl game (Breathe Education)
Find out moreMentally Healthy Schools (Anna Freud Centre)
Find out morePositive Affirmations For Kids (Motivation Ping)
Find out more7 Ways to Foster Self-Esteem and Resilience in All Learners (The Inclusion Lab)
Find out moreHow can teachers foster self-esteem in children? (Great! Schools)
Find out moreThings I like about me (Twinkl Resources)
Find out moreBuilding Resilience in Children – 20 Practical, Powerful Strategies (Hey Sigmund)
Find out moreWhy Parents Should Teach Optimism – And How to Do It (Hey Sigmund)
Find out moreEmotional Regulation in Children (Parenting for Brain)
Find out moreSupporting self-regulation in 3-4 year olds (The Sutton Trust)
Find out moreTeaching Kids About Emotional Regulation and Meditation (Teach)
Find out moreSing it Out (Sesame Street)
Find out moreHugging it Out (Sesame Street)
Find out moreFeelings Have Names (Sesame Street)
Find out moreNaming Feelings (Sesame Street)
Find out moreExploring Big Feelings (Sesame Street)
Find out moreTeaching preschool children about compassion and empathy (Parkland Children’s Academy)
Find out more25 Ways to Integrate Social Emotional Learning (Pathway 2 Success)
Find out moreFostering Healthy Social & Emotional Development in Young Children (U.S. Department of Education)
Find out moreEmotion Cards For Toddlers (Twinkl Resources)
Find out moreInside Out Movie Clip – Get To Know Your Emotions (Pixar Animation Studio)
Find out moreTips to help school become ACE and Attachment aware and trauma-informed (Fagus)
Find out moreValidate Feelings Teacher Tool (Positive Discipline)
Find out morePromoting Children’s Development of a Sense of Self and Self-Care (Virtual Lab School)
Find out moreAges & Stages: How Children Develop Self-Concept (Scholastic)
Find out moreSelf Concept (Simply Psychology)
Find out moreACEs Resources (ACEs Too High)
Find out moreACEs and Toxic Stress: FAQs (Center on the Developing Child)
Find out moreResilience in schools and education (EdpsychEd)
Find out moreCommon difficulties in the early years (Anna Freud Centre)
Find out moreBuilding Positive Teacher-Child Relationships (Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning)
Find out moreAttachment Awareness (National College for Teaching and Leadership)
Find out moreIntroduction: why attachment matters (National College for Teaching and Leadership)
Find out moreThe Attachment Theory: How Childhood Affects Life (Sprouts)
Find out moreThe role of attachment in infancy (Ryerson University)
Find out moreAdverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) (Public Health Network)
Find out moreEmotion Regulation for Learning (University of Portsmouth)
Find out moreSelf-regulation in children and teenagers (Raising Children)
Find out moreTeaching children emotional regulation (Teach)
Find out moreEmotional regulation resource library (Self Reg Canada)
Find out moreGrowth mindset activities for kids (Understood)
Find out moreMental Health and Wellbeing (Action for Children)
Find out moreLow Self-esteem (NHS)
Find out moreWhat is emotional intelligence? (NHS)
Find out moreDEAL: Building Resilience (Samaritans)
Find out moreStrength Exploration (Therapist Aid)
Find out moreResilience Tree (The Children’s Society)
Find out moreGeneral Coping Strategies (Save the Children)
Find out moreHelping adults protect children (NSPCC)
Find out moreStarting Primary School (BBC)
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