Infant comfort, crying and the Continuum concept

Infant comfort, crying and the Continuum concept

Jean Liedloff, in ‘The Continuum concept’, writes that the infant has no sense of the passage of time, and this, while in the womb or the loving arms of her care-giver is not a problem. She feels right. But when not in this state of ‘rightness’, when not in the arms...
Responsive care, early stress and relational poverty

Responsive care, early stress and relational poverty

What do we need in order to grow and develop in healthy ways? Darcia Narvaez compares raising a child to building a house. A caregiver who is not responsive to the needs of the child is like having a crap craftsman who lays down faulty foundations in your house. This...
Early intervention and prevention of pathology

Early intervention and prevention of pathology

The roots of psychopathology and other illnesses lie in early developmental experiences. How might we intervene to prevent the development of mental illness in the early years? Given the scope of the problem, as demonstrated by the ACE’s research, it would seem that...
The ACE study: An epidemic of early adversity

The ACE study: An epidemic of early adversity

Vincent Felitti of the Kaiser Permanente Medical Centres, collaborating with the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, conducted a study involving over 17,000 middle-class adults to explore the effects of childhood adversity on adult health. It is now known as...
The early years: Setting the stage for development

The early years: Setting the stage for development

Sue Gerhardt tells a story of a Patagonian culture in South America where women are treated like royalty when they are pregnant. They are awoken to the sound of beautiful music and entertained in a way that suits her tastes. In the same way that a sound tree produces...