Download Healthy Families America and Preventing Bullying

What have we learned from four decades of research to prevent bullying?
Research on bullying prevention confirms that strategies engaging families,
schools and communities have the greatest likelihood for success. Within that
ecological context, successful programs help children develop the social
emotional learning (SEL) skills necessary to effectively manage themselves and
their relationships with others. The Collaborative for Social Emotional Learning
(CASEL) has identified five core SEL competencies, including: self-awareness, selfmanagement, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decisionmaking. i
How does Healthy Families America, a program designed to get new parents off
to a good start, also prevent bullying in school?
The origins of the SEL competencies stem from the attachment formed between
parent and child - the first relationship, and grow with the child as relationships
are forged outside of the family. Healthy Families America (HFA) is a nationally
recognized evidence-based, home visiting program designed to work with families
prenatally or at birth, for up to five years. Home visitors promote parent child
bonding and SEL by utilizing a cadre of reflective strategies specifically designed to
develop and reinforce positive interactions with their infants in conjunction with
developmental guidance.ii Proponents of SEL and HFA recognize that emotional
intelligence can be taught, as a child’s healthy development is influenced by the
interaction of biology (genetics) and ecology (social and physical environment.)iii
How does HFA promote healthy attachment?
The roots of empathy are evident soon after birth, as one newborn’s cries in the
nursery often trigger cries in others, but they are nurtured through the synchrony
of the parent child bond in the months to come. To support this synchrony, home
visitors serve as choreographers, helping to compose the steps in a dyadic dance.
When a secure attachment is formed, it provides the foundation from which all
other relationships develop.iv Even amidst fluctuations in parenting and life
experiences, early secure attachment seems to have an enduring, positive effect
on developmental outcomes.v
What role does attachment play in the development of social emotional skills?
The attachment process involves a reciprocal relationship based on contingent
communication, when the signals sent by the child are perceived, understood and
responded to by the parent.vi In addition to the caretaking behaviors that foster
biological growth, the way parents manage the social emotional interactions with
their children influence how they come to understand the dynamics involved in
human relationships. Parents help shape their child’s emotional intelligence –
their “ability to monitor their own and other’s feelings, to discriminate among
them and to use this information to guide their thinking and action.”vii Reading
and responding to the feelings, moods and intentions of others is a precondition
for effective communication and collaboration. The safe, stable, nurturing
relationships formed through secure attachments foster the development of SEL
skills and serve as a buffer against potential future stressors.viii
Can parents really impact their baby’s brain development?
Yes. The attachment bond plays a fundamental role in the way a baby’s brain
organizes itself. As infants are born fully dependent upon their caregiver, a key
component of attachment is assisting infants in regulating both physical and
emotional needs in a timely and sensitive manner. Every time a parent responds
to their child’s need, every time a parent helps their child find the words to
describe their feelings, they strengthen the neural pathways in the brain that
allow children to understand how others feel. Studies of newborns mimicking
adult behavior suggest that the human brain is pre-wired for empathy. Defined as
“mirror neurons”, the wiring allows babies to take the feelings inside of another
and “mirror” it in themselves. Babies experience the feelings of someone else in
the part of the brain known as the insula and the feeling goes down to the limbic
area or the emotional core of the brain. ix Possessing the mirror neurons alone is
not enough to develop empathy; the neurons must be nurtured through
experiences. Like all learning, the acquisition of empathy is a developmental
process and begins in the home. Over time, our ability to interpret and respond
meaningfully to the feelings of others is dependent on effective modeling of
responsive care from parents.
Can parents with histories of trauma break the cycle and develop positive
parenting
How we come to terms with our own childhood experiences, significantly impacts
the way we parent. “Science has shown that it is not what happened to you in
the past that matters most in determining how you raise your children. Instead, it
is how you have come to make sense of your early life experiences that is the
most robust predictor of how your children will become attached to you.”x
Becoming a parent opens a window in which parents hover between their own
early childhood experiences and how they want to “be” as parents. Home visitors
use many techniques to help parents reflect on their past experiences and adopt
new strategies to provide safe, predictable environments for their children. For
parents who did not receive a nurturing childhood, providing that environment
will not come naturally. Through ongoing home visits, Healthy Families America
home visitors guide parents in how to: interpret their baby’s signals, become
attuned to their needs and overcome automatic, destructive responses based on
past experiences.
What happens when families graduate from Healthy Families America?
When babies receive responsive caring from their attachment figure, they learn
about pro-social behavior long before they learn the vocabulary to describe this
behavior. Having experienced empathy at home, these children have acquired the
skills necessary to thrive in school and community settings. Beginning in preschool and continuing throughout the school age years, these concepts must be
reinforced both through continuing nurturing parents responses and using
developmentally appropriate curriculums for both children and the adults who
come into contact with them. Emotional intelligence is an essential tool in
ensuring the healthy development of children and the prevention of child
maltreatment/bullying.
i
http://www.casel.org/social-and-emotional-learning/core-competencies
ii
www.healthyfamiliesamerica.org
iii
Shonkoff, J.P., Garner, A.S. (2011). The lifelong effects of early childhood adversity and toxic stress. Pediatrics.
Brackett, M.A. &Rivers, S.E. (2014). Preventing bullying with emotional intelligence. Education Week.
iv
Ainsworth, M. D. (1978). Patterns of attachment. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
v
Berlin, L.J., Cassidy, J. & Appleyard, K. (2008). The influence of early attachment on other relationships. In J.
Cassidy & P.R. Shaves (Eds.) Handbook of Assessment: Theory Research and Clinical Applications (2nd ed). New
York: Guilford Publication.
vi
Siegel,D.J. & Hartzell, M. (2004). Parenting from the inside out: how a deeper understanding can help you raise
parents who thrive. New York, NY: penguin.
vii
Salovey, P. & Mayer, J.D. (1990). Emotional intelligence. Imagination, Cognition, and Personality, 9,185-211.
viii
www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/EFC 01-03-13.2013-a:pdf.
ix
Iacoboni, M. (2009).Imitation, empathy, and mirror neurons. Annual Review of Psychology, 60,653-670.
x
Siegel, D.J. & Hartzell, M. (2004).