Parents & Caregivers
What is Infant Early Childhood Mental Health?
Imagine your baby’s mind is like a garden of tiny seeds. Nevada Infant Early Childhood Mental Health (NV-AIECMH) is all about helping those seeds grow strong roots to support your child throughout their life. Infant Early Childhood Mental Health – also known as social-emotional health or early relational health – is about understanding and supporting your little one’s curiosities, development, and emotions right from the start.
Why Does it Matter?
Your baby is learning and growing super fast! The period between a baby’s development in pregnancy through early childhood (age 6) is the most important – and rapid – period of brain development. We now know how to support a child’s healthy development through four C’s:
Connection – close, responsive relationships with their primary caregivers
Culture – recognize family & community traditions and unique identities
How NV-AIECMH’s Work Supports Parents & Caregivers
NV-AIEMH is an interdisciplinary group of professionals who are passionate about the social and emotional well-being of infants, very young children, and their families.
We support the statewide workforce. Our goal is to have prenatal teams, pediatricians, childcare providers, home visitors, early intervention providers, and mental health consultation services available to help all parents and caregivers understand their baby’s unique needs and help you navigate the twists and turns of parenthood.
NV-AIECMH can help by:
Connecting parents and caregivers to:
Connecting parents and caregivers to:
- Affordable and appropriate providers to support you in navigating the joys and challenges of parenting.
- Developmental and mental health screenings and observations to explore the mental health needs of young children as early as possible.
- Providing referrals to highly trained professionals with specialized knowledge in childhood infant and early childhood mental health.
- Informing caregivers about early childhood mental health development using milestones and insight on “red flags.
- Teaching infant and early childhood professionals ways to connect with caregivers so that strategies used to address young children’s social and emotional needs are aligned with their caregiver’s values, abilities, and resources.
Did You Know ...
Brain Architecture
A caregiver who is responsive to an infant’s needs is the foundation for secure attachment, allowing the child to explore and learn.
Body & Health
Affection and protection by a nurturing caregiver can reduce the stress hormones that can disrupt brain and physical development.
Behavior & Relationships
Secure attachments is the basic building block of an infant or young child developing healthy social relationships.