Infant Mental Health
INFANT MENTAL HEALTH: A PRIMARY GOAL OF ATTACHMENT-BASED PARENTING
Early in my career as an occupational therapist, I had the privilege of participating in York University's inaugural Infant Mental Health certificate program. The focus was on understanding the environmental and biological basis for infant mental health.
Since that time I have studied the science of attachment theory and ecology, and learned the impact of our parenting approaches on infant mental health. What has struck me most across all of this learning was appreciating the impact that our environment can have on the developmental well-being of infants and young children. Our children’s environments are largely created but us in the early years, and we have a significant influence on how nurturing their environments are.
Nurturing, stable, safe, and loving environments can have a positive influence on children, including those with a history of trauma. Although we cannot change the past, what we do today to shift towards more nurturing environments can support infant mental health.
The passion I have for connected parenting in the early years and beyond is reflected heavily in my approach to supporting infant sleep. Sleep deprivation can make even the most patient parent short-tempered and less compassionate. Sleep-deficient infants are more easily upset, more 'wired', and often more difficult to get to sleep. And yet, at the heart of it, infants need proximity to a loving adult who has the capacity to parent in a nurturing way. It is helpful to listen to our instincts about how to support their biological and emotional needs, and to seek support (from family, from friends, from skilled mental health care professionals) to do that.
My approach to infant sleep is to inform, to guide decisions, and to change the environment and expectations in order to progress towards sleep practices that support everyone's sleep needs. For families who have additional challenges, including mental health issues, and trauma history, I connect families with local health care professionals who can continue to support families in ways that respect the family's needs and goals.
Understanding the huge impact that we, as parents, have on our children’s well being is not intended to add a burden. Rather, it can help make decisions easier: we can choose to meet the need. We can choose to connect. We can choose to be present with our children. And we can choose to take care of ourselves and to get support when we feel overwhelmed.
Key Messages:
Attachment based parenting improves infant mental health.
Our environment impacts our health.
Decisions are easier when we know why attachment is important.
Self-care is critical: fill your own cup so you can fill theirs too.
I am not a mental health professional. But there are talented and compassionate people in our community who are. If you are concerned about mental health and about your capacity to support a nurturing relationship with your child, reach out and seek support.
Niagara Resources:
In Niagara, local supports for infant and family mental health include:
Pathstone Mental Health Services, pathstonementalhealth.ca
Emily Pollak, Social Worker, individual and family counselling, St. Catharines, emilypollak.ca
Niagara Infant Mental Health website (Early Childhood Community Development Centre), http://www.eccdc.org/infant-mental-health/
Within and beyond Niagara, supports include:
911 for medical emergencies
411 for information about local mental health services in some jurisdictions
Your family physician
Local initiatives to support infant and child mental health