Your child's emotional wellbeing

Voice of the Infant

The term 'Voice of the Infant' is used to help us understand that babies have their own minds and have things to communicate from birth.

The Scottish Government published guidelines for people who work with babies to support them to notice and share a baby's feelings, ideas and likes and dislikes. Babies tell us through their gaze, body language and vocalisations.

This Infant Pledge below sets out what infants should expect from those around them in Scotland.

‘I am one of Scotland’s youngest citizens. To give me the best start, so that I can thrive throughout my life, I need to be seen as a person with my own feelings and rights. I depend on adults to interpret my cues and communications so that my rights are upheld, and my voice is heard.

My relationships with the people who care for me are important and directly affect how my brain grows and develops, and how I learn to process and regulate my feelings. Safe and secure relationships and consistent care support my wellbeing now and give me better chances and outcomes in later life too.

Professionals and academics in the field of Infant Mental Health alongside organisations championing the rights and welfare of babies and very young children have come together on my behalf to create the following expectations, which they believe would help improve my life chances.

I expect that I will:

1. Be seen as a person with my own feelings and views.

2. Be seen as able to communicate my feelings and views.

3. Be able to trust my important adults to think carefully about my feelings and views and speak them for me.

4. Be supported to have secure relationships with the adults who care for me.

5. Have safe, interesting places to play and learn, and the help I need to do so.

6. Have my views valued by my family, community, and society.

7. Have a say in decisions about what happens to me.

My important adults will:

8. Have support to be healthy, including before I am born.

9. Have the information they need to make good choices for me.

10. Have the support they need to understand and meet my needs and their own.

11. Have help from people with the right knowledge and skills.

It is everyone's responsibility to:

12. Consider me and my perspective at all levels of decision making.

If you would like to see a full copy of the guidelines click on the link below

Voice of the Infant: best practice guidelines and infant pledge

Development

Brain development

In the first 3 years of life the foundations for lifelong emotional, social and physical health are laid. From conception your child’s brain is growing rapidly and their experiences within the womb play a vital role in supporting healthy brain development.

Our Developing Brain-Centre For Early Childhood

Building Social Connections- Centre for Early Childhood

Building Strong Brain Architecture

Baby brain facts - Information for parents

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What is infant mental health? Why does it matter?

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Play and interaction to support development

In the early years babies and children grow, learn and develop through their relationships, experiences and opportunities. Play and interactions are important ways that you can support this.

Activities for 0-3 month olds: BBC Tiny Happy People: A collection of activities and things to do with children aged 0-3 months. Find ways to bond with your newborn and help with their early communication and listening skills.

Look, Say, Sing, Play - Brain-building tips: NSPCC have teamed up with Vroom™ to give you some fun and easy tips to help you bring even more Look, Say, Sing and Play into your daily routine with your baby or toddler.

Big Little Moments: Small Steps, Big Changes: Get ideas a suggestions from other parents

Responsive relationships builds strong brains - Serve & Return: NSPCC

All children grow and develop at their own pace. As a parent / carer you can encourage this by looking at the following resources

Child Development: NHS GGC Kids services, Children and young people develop skills in their own time but tend to follow the same path. Explore the child development timeline or the interactive questionnaires for more information.

NSPCC – Learning: Look, Say, Sing, Play early years resources

Early Years Matter: Child Development

Early Years | NHS GGC: Tummy Time

Scroll down through this last resource to find video resources showing 'tummy time positions' that will support your baby as they begin to move.

Your relationship

Responding to your baby’s need in a loving and nurturing way helps them to feel safe and secure. This helps your baby to develop a trusting relationship with you. This lays the foundation for lifelong understanding of how relationships work and is vital to our emotional, social and physical wellbeing.

Getting to know each other through looking at each other’s faces, gentle touch, talking to your baby and paying attention to your baby’s cues will support the bond between you.

Some parents quickly feel a close bond with their baby, but for others this can feel difficult or slow to develop. This can be for many reasons, and it is important for parents to know that it is not unusual. As with other new relationships, it can take time for us to get to know and love our babies. Becoming a parent is a huge change and can bring up lots of thoughts and feelings. Sharing these with trusted people can help. If things continue to feel hard, don't hesitate to speak with your GP or baby's Health Visitor. Struggles are common, and there are many different types of help available

No parent gets it right all the time and all parents do their best. Babies don’t need you to be perfect; good enough responses, as often as possible, is all they need.

Developing our Sense of Self- Centre of Early Childhood

Managing our Emotions-Centre for Early Childhood

Our Social Network

Wee Minds Matter, Infant Mental Health Service Greater Glasgow and Clyde

Wee Minds Matter is an NHS service that supports Infants, and their families alongside the services that are already involved in an Infants life. If you want to know more about this team you can speak with your Health Visitor or Family Nurse.

Difficulty bonding with baby? Advice on wellbeing and building connections - BBC Tiny Happy People

Developing a relationship with your baby | Ready Steady Baby! (nhsinform.scot)

Importance of relationship building: UNICEF baby friendly initiative)

Building a happy baby: UNICEF baby friendly initiative leaflet

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Communication

Babies start to respond and communicate with the world when they are in the womb. They are born ready to interact with you and they need you to tune in to their unique language. Behaviour is your baby’s first language and this means paying close attention to their movements, sounds and responses. This can help you to make sense of how they are feeling and what they may need.

Your baby is a unique individual with their own set of likes, dislikes, strengths and challenges. It can take time to understand and get to know one another and that’s okay. If you feel you need help with this there are many resources that can support.

My First Language – Brazelton

Click on Image to open within the Brazelton web pages

Please note that the Brazelton Centre UK CIO holds the copyright for this booklet and therefore printing and copying are not permitted.

Learning What Your Newborn Baby Is Saying To You- Brazelton Video

How new-borns communicate need

Early Childhood Science Explained: Our Social Network

How babies use actions & gestures to communicate - BBC Tiny Happy People

Early language development - The benefits of making sounds and talking to your baby from birth - BBC Tiny Happy People

Newborn facial expressions: 5 early ways your baby communicates with you - BBC Tiny Happy People

Why is my baby crying? Common reasons newborns cry - BBC Tiny Happy People

Managing Behaviour

Young children often communicate thoughts and feelings through behaviours. It is normal for them to try different ways of expressing themselves, such as being noisy, throwing things or having tantrums. They are still learning what behaviours are considered okay and not okay in their family home and other places. Young children need adult support to manage their feelings, and to learn positive and healthy ways to express themselves.

Different factors can impact on your child's behaviour, including their sleep, diet, general life or any big changes in their lives. The following links may help with understanding and responding to your child's behaviours when you are finding this difficult:

Understanding emotions and behaviour - Support for Parents from Action For Children

Toddlers and Challenging Behavior: Why They Do It and How to Respond | ZERO TO THREE

Positive parenting from NSPCC

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In Our Place - the Solihull Approach online content

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Scottish Government give free access with the password Tartan. You can also get free access if you enter your email address and postcode - you just need to create an account.