Nurturing Children’s Emotional Wellbeing in the Early Years

Linking Theory to Practice

Caroline Wright, Michelle Demirtas

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2026
• eBook ISBN:
  9781040833469
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Elementary Education

Being mentally healthy in early childhood enables babies and young children to understand and cope with emotions, experience meaningful, nurturing relationships, and explore, play and learn. This book supports early-years practitioners to develop and consider the quality of their interactions and to understand how to meet children's emotional needs effectively.

The book considers what every child needs to feel safe, secure and loved. Offering a whole setting approach to emotional health and wellbeing, it outlines essential knowledge on brain development, environments and working with parents. Chapters cover neuroscientific theories on early brain development and practice, and are aligned to typical child development, offering practical evidence-based strategies and activities to secure children's emotional wellbeing both now and as they grow.

Including reflective tasks and suggestions for individual and group activities, this is essential reading for early-years practitioners and students. It will also be valuable reading for parents.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Foreword
• About the Authors
• Acknowledgements
• Preface
• 1 The Foundations of a Nurturing Approach: What Every Child Needs
• 2 Safe and Loved: What Happens in the First Six Months?
• 3 Curious and Connected: Next Steps from Six to Eighteen Months
• 4 Thinking and Feeling: The Developing Child from Eighteen Months to Three Years
• 5 Sense of Self and Others: Supporting Children from Three to Five Years
• Conclusion
• Appendix: Bright Horizons Nurturing Environments Audit Tool
• References
• Index