Nurturing natures : attachment and children's emotional, sociocultural and brain development

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction: The Blind Men and the Elephant Part 1 - Beginnings of Emotional and Social Development 1. Life Begins: From Conception to Birth 2. Born to Relate 3. Infant Coping Mechanisms, Mismatches and Repairs in Relating 4. Empathy, Self and Other Minds Part 2 - Overarching Bodies of Ideas 5. Attachment 6. The Importance of Culture and Identity 7. Biology and The Brain 8. Epigenetics, Evolution and How Nature Meets Nurture Part 3 - Developmental Capacities and Stages 9. Language, Words and Symbols 10. Memories: Learning Who We Are and What to Expect 11. Play: Fun, Symbolising, Practising and Mucking About 12. Issues of Gender Part 4- Not Just Mothers 13. Non-maternal Childcare 14. Middle Childhood, Siblings, Peers and Group Life 15. Fathers 16. Moving Towards Adulthood Part 5 - Consequences of Early Experiences 17. Trauma, Neglect and Their Effects 18. Resilience and Good Feelings 19. Moral Development, Antisocial and Prosocial Behaviour 20. Conclusions: Earlier Experience and Its Longer-Term Consequences

"This new edition of the bestselling text, Nurturing Natures, provides an indispensable synthesis of the latest scientific knowledge about children's emotional development. Integrating a wealth of both up-to-date and classical research from areas such as attachment theory, neuroscience, developmental psychology and cross-cultural studies, it weaves these into an accessible, enjoyable text that always keeps in mind children recognisable to academics, practitioners and parents. New to this edition, the book considers transgender issues, same-sex parenting, experiences of black and minority ethnic groups, well-being and the impact of mental health in relation to climate change anxiety. It looks at key developmental stages from life in the womb to the preschool years and right up until adolescence, examining how children develop language, play and memory and moral capacities. Issues of nature and nurture are addressed and the effects of different kinds of early experiences are unpicked, creating a coherent and balanced view of the developing child in context. Nurturing Natures is written by an experienced child therapist who has used a wide array of research from different disciplines to create a highly readable and scientifically trustworthy text. Equipped with key takeaways, reflection questions, further reading and video chapter introductions, this book is essential reading for childcare students, teachers, social workers, health visitors, early years practitioners and those training or working in child counselling, psychiatry, and mental health. Full of fascinating findings, it provides answers to many of the questions people really want to ask about the human journey from conception into adulthood"-- Provided by publisher.