Page 7 - The First 60 Days Magazine - February 2025
P. 7
Mental health is formed in our
earliest days, even before birth.
Babies enter the world primed to build relationships. From birth, they begin
forming bonds, developing social responses, and discovering both
themselves and their surroundings.
Infant and early childhood mental health is at the center of every single
step we take at ZERO TO THREE. No other core issues matter if we don’t
begin by acknowledging that babies come into the world with a capacity
for a rich emotional life and are so much more than passive observers of
the world around them.
IECMH is the developing capacity of the infant/young child to form close
and secure relationships; experience, manage, and express a full range of
emotions; and explore the environment and learn—all in the context of
family, community, and culture.
Despite trending conversations about people’s emotional well-being, the
mental health of our youngest citizens is often ignored or misunderstood.
From infancy through the preschool years, each experience—good or bad—
shapes a child’s foundation for future wellness.
T H E F I R S T 6 0 D A Y S | 6
