Required Resources

Note: To open PDF documents, you will need the Adobe® Reader® software (available as a free download at: http://get.adobe.com/reader/).

• Course Text: Parlakian, R., & Seibel, N. L. (2002). Building strong foundations: Practical guidance for promoting the social-emotional development of infants and toddlers. Washington, DC: Zero to Three.
• • Pages 1–5 (“Introduction” and “What Is Infant Mental Health?”)
  • Pages 9–10 (“Thinking About Culture”)
    
• Course Text: Lally, J. R., Mangione, P. L., & Greenwald, D. (Eds.). (2006). Concepts for care: 20 essays on infant/toddler development and learning. San Francisco: WestEd.
• • “Infant Mental Health” by Jeree Pawl (pp. 71–75)
  • “Teachers and Family Members: Talking Together” by Amy Laura Dombro (pp. 59–63)
  • “Metatheories of Childrearing” by J. Ronald Lally (pp. 7–1 3)

Optional Resources

• Website: World Association for Infant Mental Health
  http://www.waimh.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=1

• Web Article: Nyhan, P. (2006, May 8). Imagine bonding with baby when home is a hospital. Seattle P-I. Retrieved from http://www.seattlepi.com/default/article/Imagine-bonding-with-baby-when-home-is-a-hospital-1202953.php

• Web Article: King, M. (2004, July 28). Nurturing baby’s psyche: Parents’ job includes understanding child’s cues. The Seattle Times. Retrieved from http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20040728&slug=healthbaby28m

• Website: Zero to Three: Early Childhood Mental Health
  http://www.zerotothree.org/child-development/early-childhood-mental-health/

• Website: Zero to Three. (n.d.). Early childhood mental health: Prevention, promotion, and

  treatment. Retrieved from http://main.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ter_key_imh_prevention

• Web Article: National Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health. (2009). Promotion and prevention: What do these new buzz words mean to me? Retrieved from http://www.ffcmh.org/sites/default/files/Promotion%20and%20Prevention%20%E2%80%93%20What%20Do%20These%20New%20Buzz%20Words%20Mean%20to%20Me.pdf

Content Review

1. As you begin your exploration of the infant mental health field, it is important to consider the myriad supports that infant/toddler mental health services provide. Review pages 2–5 of Building Strong Foundations: Practical Guidance for Promoting the Social-Emotional Development of Infants and Toddlers, and explain the role of infant/toddler mental health in one of the following areas: promoting mental health, preventing the occurrence or escalation of mental health problems, or treating children’s mental health needs in order to support the young child’s return to positive developmental progress.
   
2. “Although infant mental health constitutes a field that is studied and thought about in many different areas of inquiry, it is not some mysterious thing up in the sky. Infant mental health is always living right in the room every single minute” (Pawl, 2006b, p. 75). Using examples provided in the “Infant Mental Health” essay in Concepts for Care: 20 Essays on Infant/Toddler Development and Learning, explain how supporting infant mental health emerges from daily interactions.
   
3. Based on the “Teachers and Family Members: Talking Together” essay in Concepts for Care, describe at least three strategies professionals can use to develop partnerships with families, and explain how this information can be valuable for all child development professionals.