Full Description
Human beings have the most immature newborn and longest maturational schedule of any animal. Only 25% of the adult brain size is developed at full-term birth, and most of the brain's size and volume is co-constructed by caregivers in the first years of life. As a result, early life experience has long-term effects on physiological and psychological wellbeing.
Contexts for Young Child Flourishing uses an evolutionary systems framing to address the conditions and contexts for child development and thriving. Contributors focus on flourishing-optimizing individual (physiological, psychological, emotional) and communal (social, community) functioning. Converging events make this a key time to reconsider the needs of children and their optimal development in light of increasing understanding of human evolution, the early dynamism of development, and how these influence developmental trajectories. There is a great deal of misunderstanding both among researchers and the general public about what human beings need for optimal development. As a result, human nature unnecessarily can be misshaped by policies, practices, and beliefs that don't take into account evolved needs. Empirical studies today are better able to document and map the long-term effects of early deficits or early assets, mostly in animal models but also through longitudinal studies. An interdisciplinary set of scholars considers child flourishing in regards to issues of development, childhood experience, and wellbeing. Scholars from neuroscience, anthropology, and clinical and developmental studies examine the buffering effects of optimal caregiving practices and shed light on the need for new databases, new policies, and altered childcare practices.
Contents
Preface
About the Editors
Contributors
SECTION 1: FOUNDATIONS FOR FLOURISHING IN YOUNG CHILDREN
1. The Flourishing of Young Children: Evolutionary Baselines
Darcia Narvaez, Lee Gettler, Julia Braungart-Rieker, Laura Miller Graff and Paul Hastings
2. Life for Learning: How a Young Child Seeks Joy With Companions In a Meaningful World
Colwyn Trevarthen and Jon-Roar Bjørkvold
3. Societal Contexts for Family Relations: Development, Violence and Stress
Riane Eisler
4. The Role of Emotion Socialization in Promoting Child Flourishing
Holly E. Brophy-Herb, Danielle Dalimonte-Merckling, Neda Senehi, and Alicia Kwon
5. Healthy Children: The Role of Emotion Regulation
Julia Braungart-Rieker and Elizabeth Planalp
SECTION 2: PARENTING AND FAMILY CULTURAL CONTEXTS
6. The Parental Brain - Regulation of Mother and Father Behavior that Influences Infant Development
James Swain
7. Parent-Child Symbolic Relationship In-Utero: Parents' Prenatal Expectations Regarding Their Child's Temperament and Their Own Parenting
Lior Abramson, David Mankuta, and Ariel Knafo-Noam
8. Wellbeing and Sociomoral Development in Preschoolers: The Relation of Maternal Parenting Attitudes Consistent with the Evolved Developmental Niche
Tracy Gleason, Darcia Narvaez, Ying Cheng, Lijuan Wang, and Jeff Brooks
9. Biopsychosocial Models of Prosociality: Compassionate Love, Vagal Regulation, and Children's Altruism
Jonas Miller and Paul Hastings
10. The Emergence of "Positive Parenting" as a New Paradigm: Theory, Process, and Evidence
George Holden, Rose Ashraf, Erin Brannan, and Paige Baker
11. Transitions in Siblinghood: Integrating Developmental, Cultural and Evolutionary Perspectives
Hillary N. Fouts and Lauren R. Bader
SECTION 3: CONTEXTS OF CONFLICT
12. The Benefits of Marital Conflict: Constructiveness and Resolution as Predictors of Positive Child Outcomes
Katie (Bergman) Miller, Mark Cummings, Kelly (Kuznicki) Warmuth
13. Multi-contextual influences on resilience in young children exposed to intimate partner violence
Laura Miller Graff
SECTION 4: COMMUNITY CONTEXTS
14. Flourishing in Transactional Care Systems: Caring with Infant and Toddler Caregivers about Wellbeing
Mary B. McMullen and Kathleen McCormick
15. Enrichment and Isolation: Institutional Care and Challenges to Child Development in Jamaica
Robin Nelson
16. The Elementary Classroom: A Context for Supporting Children's Flourishing
Marilyn Watson
SECTION 5: PRACTICAL AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS
17. Culture, Community and Context in Child Development: Implications for Family Programs and Policy
Joshua Sparrow
18. Young Child Flourishing as an Aim for Society
Darcia Narvaez, Paul Hastings, Julia Braungart-Rieker, Lee Gettler, and Laura Miller-Graff
Index
