Dr. Donald Winnicott, a British pediatrician, once said "there is no such thing as a baby," referring to the fact that all babies are accompanied by a caretaking or attachment figure.  However, babies and attachment figures do not exist in a vacuum, and instead live in the context of a family and a larger community.  Community training is intended to help caregivers, providers, and all those who love and care for babies and young children learn more about the early years, how to help them feel loved, respected and safe in all settings, and how to recognize and support them when something seems amiss.  Prior community training topics have included common early childhood anxieties, how to scaffold social-emotional learning through the use of children's books, how to support a young child's innate resilience, reflective parenting, and the impact of toxic stress on child development, among many other topics. 

Caring for infants and young children is an important job.  In some cases, they may spend almost as much time with caretakers and teachers as they do with their parents.  Babies and children form close bonds with those who care for them and vice-versa, and every interaction forms early templates for what they can come to expect from others.  Providers who serve infants and young children in early learning centers benefit from knowledge in the areas of cognitive and social-emotional development, prosocial behavior, brain development, the importance of everyday play, reading infant cues, mitigating the impact of toxic stress on the developing brain, and trauma-informed care for young children and caregivers.  If you're looking to augment your staff's professional development day, don't hesitate to reach out.