Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University

Serve & return interactions—which are responsive, back-and-forth exchanges between a young child and a caring adult—help build and strengthen neural connections in a child’s brain. 🧠 These interactions are easy to do at home or just about anywhere! Here are some steps for practicing serve and return interactions with children in your life: 1️⃣ Notice serves and then share the child's focus of attention 2️⃣ Return serves by supporting & encouraging 3️⃣ Name what the child is seeing, doing, or feeling 4️⃣ Take turns going back & forth 5️⃣ Practice endings & beginnings Learn more in the full video here: https://bit.ly/3yIEExN

The places where children live can affect their development and lifelong health. This includes their exposure to indoor air pollutants like nitrogen dioxide (NO2) from gas and propane stoves. A study by Dr. Kari Nadeau, a member of our Early Childhood Scientific Council on Equity and the Environment (ECSCEE), explores the risks of NO2 exposure in homes: https://bit.ly/498GzNO. Stay tuned for the ECSCEE's next paper, which will examine the effects of a wide range of indoor air pollutants on early childhood development and discuss strategies for improving indoor air quality.

Did you miss our November newsletter? In this edition, we feature resources detailing how play supports healthy development and share activities you can use with the children in your life. Check it out here: https://bit.ly/3YZPYSY Subscribe to our newsletter here: https://bit.ly/3PU989m

Play is a critical part of early childhood development. To learn more about why play is so important for early childhood development, check out Dr. Jack Shonkoff's “mini masterclass” with UNICEF Canada: https://bit.ly/4a0D8Yt

When children play, they can reduce sources of stress, strengthen core life skills, and build responsive relationships with caring adults - all of which are core principles of early childhood development. To learn more about the importance of play, watch the full video: https://bit.ly/2ZcMQ7D

Increasing children's access to clean water supports development and lifelong health. In North Carolina, all licensed childcare centers test for lead in their drinking water. The state worked with RTI International to create Clean Water for Carolina Kids, which facilitated testing and helped centers implement low-cost solutions when lead was detected. To find more strategies for improving children's access to clean water, check out our Solutions Spotlight: https://bit.ly/47vo8Sy.

As noted in the recent advisory from the Surgeon General, parents and caregivers face many stressors that can impact their mental health and well-being, which can affect the health and well-being of the children in their care. We must work together across policy domains to provide caregivers the support they need, including access to safe, stable housing, green space, and more. When we support caregivers, we are supporting their ability to care for the young children in their lives. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3ZtjEWK.

Resilience is evident when a child’s health and development tip toward positive outcomes—even when they’ve experienced significant adversity. By working together across sectors to implement policies and programs that support children and caregivers, we can help children develop resilience. Learn more here: https://bit.ly/48bqqGe

Play contributes to sturdy brain architecture, the foundations of lifelong health, and the building blocks of resilience. Learn more about the importance of play in early childhood and hear from Dr. Jack Shonkoff in this episode of our podcast 🎧 https://bit.ly/3O4CgKi

😍 This adorable video is a great example of a serve and return interaction. When an infant or young child babbles, gestures, or cries and an adult responds with eye contact, words, or a hug, neural connections are built and strengthened in the child’s brain, supporting the development of communication and social skills. Serve and return interactions like this are easy to do at home or pretty much anywhere! Learn more: https://bit.ly/3yIEExN.