The Critical Social Currency of Earliest Relationships
Today begins the launch of the UKs inaugural infant mental health awareness week which is seeking to unpack the critical social currency of earliest relationships and why they matter for supporting good mental health outcomes for children. Blog can be downloaded for further reading below.
Yesterday on BBC 5Live the poignant question that was poised to me was Can babies be depressed? I was struck by the power of the question in the week that the BBC are facilitating #In the Mind to highlight mental health and the need for further significant investment - it is a question that needs unpacking further. Thanks to the Institute of Health Visiting (IHV) who yesterday called on further... more here
Earlier this week I had the privledge to witness a significant event in the Council Chamber of Northampton which had been in planning for the past year - the birth of a local 1001 Critical Days charter to ensure that every babies birth in the county and preparation for it as a community is given its rightful focus and priority - investment in the emotional and physical wellbeing of infants, toddlers and their families beginning in the antenatal period.... more here
The charity Parent Infant Partnership (PIP) UK welcomes the re-launch of the cross-party manifesto 1001 Critical Days: conception to age 2 today in Parliament, which highlights the importance of acting early to enhance the outcomes for children. We are lucky enough to facilitate the 1001 Critical Days Campaign nationally alongside being a joint secretariat with the WAVE Trust for the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) Conception to Age 2 as our policy arm.
BrightPIP’s mission is to provide Parent Infant Psychotherapy to all families who need this in a timely and accessible way. I find the damage done to some of our children heart breaking and I believe parent and baby work can begin to prevent damage. I question passionately, why, with our current attachment research and knowledge base, would we go with an illness model (let's wait until children get mentally unwell and then address the issue) rather than a wellness and preventative model.... more here
What do you think should be the first priority for our nation’s wellbeing? Parity of esteem between physical and mental health? Addressing health inequalities? Social mobility? Breaking cycles of deprivation, inequality and poverty? I guess some... more here
