Connection

The bond between adults and young children is tremendously powerful.

Humans are born wired for connection.

It shapes their introduction to the world in which they will live, grow, and, hopefully, thrive. The ability to feel bonded and understood within a relationship is rewarding and fulfilling for adults and children.

Humans are born wired for connection.

Follow two Wisconsin families, one on the east side of the state and another on the west, as they strengthen their connection during a full summer day in the video below.

We all know how important adults are to kids.

We are their teachers. We are their role models. We are their advocates and their protectors. Much of what they learn, they learn from us. Adults have the power to create beautiful moments for young people. This video was filmed by a father in Milwaukee and Saint Croix Falls, Wisconsin. Join young Asha and Isaiah and their loving families from wake up to bedtime.

Tune In - To Young Children

The best way to support early connection is to tune into the relationship. When we put away our screens and pay attention, children learn that they are loved, supported and valued. Children are excellent role models for what it looks like to be mindful and present in the moment. They show us the importance of play – and play and presence are fundamental to adults’ social and emotional wellness too.

Below are 2 short videos that show an adult being present with the child.

Tune In - To Young Children

Below are 2 short videos that show an adult being present with the child.

As you are watching these moments of connection between a child and their adult consider the following questions:

What thoughts and feelings come up for you?
Who leads and who follows?
What is this child learning about the world?
What is this child learning about themselves?

Support Parents and Caregivers

It takes a village to raise a child! A child’s community plays an important role in supporting their development. For a child to develop optimally, they need safe and responsive relationships with caring adults. And adults become better equipped to meet the social and emotional needs of children when their own needs are met.

When we invest in the adults who care for children we are investing in children and our shared future.

Support Parents and Caregivers

When we invest in the adults who care for children we are investing in children and our shared future.

Put into Practice

We hope this experience has showcased the remarkably rich emotional world of early childhood and the important role YOU play in the life of a child.

Children learn to embrace and express their emotions by watching and interacting with the adults and children they see every day.

We can support a child’s ability to manage and express their emotions by noticing and honoring all the emotions they express and providing a sensitive, responsive, and calm presence when feelings are intense

Doing these simple but critical things supports brain development and will help children to form healthy, strong relationships with others that will have lifelong impacts!

We hope this experience has showcased the remarkably rich emotional world of early childhood and the important role YOU play in the life of a child.

Children learn to embrace and express their emotions by watching and interacting with the adults and children they see every day.

Doing these simple but critical things supports brain development and will help children to form healthy, strong relationships with others that will have lifelong impacts!

When children hear, see and experience us comfortably expressing our emotions in safe and respectful ways, they too develop the skills to express themselves in safe and healthy ways - thereby creating the strong foundation necessary for all future learning and development.