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When we talk to others about our work around love and nurture we occasionally come across people who respond with – ‘Love and nurture? What’s that got to do with early childhood education?’. In this podcast episode and article, we explain why love and nurture matter more than ever and what you can learn from our latest book.
The purpose of Love and Nurture in the Early Years
We know that the early experiences children have shape the architecture of their developing brain and thus if a child is loved and nurtured, the knock-on impact is that they will be more ready to learn. In addition, change in the world begins with our youngest children because how we love and nurture our children today will determine how loving and nurturing, they become in the future. This means we are growing and developing a future society. Whilst working together we have come to discover that our ethos is aligned in terms of wanting to inspire early childhood professionals to create a loving and nurturing environment for young children. With this in mind, we wanted to write this book together, in the hope that it will inspire others in their work with young children.
In our book Love and Nurture in the Early Years (2024), we cover the science of love, care and nurture in the early years, which explores the neuroscience and theory underpinning the concept, including the new area of epigenetics, and we define both love and nurture. We discuss what these concepts look like in practice, both in terms of the child and in linking with love languages and using positive touch. We recognise the importance of building relationships with families and consider how we can develop a whole-setting approach, including adopting relational practices and developing a loving and nurturing learning environment.
What does nurturing mean?
The term nurture is often used in conjunction with the nature-nurture debate. We are not debating this – we see nature and nurture as combined and impossible to separate. In addition, the Centre on the Developing Child, Harvard University, outlines that recent neuroscientific developments imply the idea of nature versus nurture is outdated and the study of epigenetics suggests that although our genetic code is embedded at conception, it is through our nurturing environment that children grow and develop (Centre on the Developing Child, 2023). Therefore, in terms of child development, we would suggest both nature and nurture are important.
When thinking about nurturing children, this implies caring for them through their development over time, or as they grow. We might nurture curiosity, nurture kindness or nurture creativity in our children, which means we help our children to develop these virtues or foster these dispositions. To nurture someone is to care deeply for them and help them to grow and thrive. In this sense, our early childhood provision is predominantly about nurturing children. This goes hand in hand with loving children. It would be impossible to truly love a child without nurturing them, because real love is active and wants the very best for the other person. Therefore, considering both love and nurture seems a very natural combination.
The risks of love and nurture
Loving and nurturing doesn’t come without any risk…in loving others we allow ourselves to become vulnerable, and as Bowlby points out ‘A liability to experience separation anxiety and grief are thus the ineluctable risks of a love relationship, of caring for someone’, (1960, pg. 110). In loving our children as early childhood professionals we open ourselves to hurt, however, we would argue that loving our children is still the best way, in fact, the only way of nurturing them.
We hope that you find the book will offer practical advice and guidance about how to love and nurture young children, backed up and embedded by a wealth of theory and research.
Key takeaways
We try to include in our book practical ideas of how to implement a loving and nurturing approach, for example:
- Building secure attachments and relationships
- Spending time together and being attuned to children
- Prioritising our children and focusing on them
- Paying attention to children’s likes and dislikes
- Listening to our children and, whenever possible, acting on what they say.
- Being compassionate
- Empathising and validating children’s emotions.
Critical considerations
- To what extent is your practice evidence-based in relation to growing nurturing relationships?
- How might you ensure your children feel safe and secure in your provision?
- In what ways do you lovingly nurture the children in your care?
- Does each child feel listened to and valued as part of your setting? How do you know this? How can you find this out?
- Do you share with parents/carers what your approach is in terms of nurturing children and the use of physical touch?
Explainer:
Love – Young children’s need for love and care in their early years is usually explained by reference to attachment theory. Love describes a deep sense of affection for our children which means we have their best interests at heart.
Nurture – Nurture refers to the care and attention that children are given while they are growing and developing.
Epigenetics – Epigenetics is an emerging science which shows how environmental influences affect the expression of genes, in other words, how a child’s experiences modify their inherited genetic DNA makeup.
References
Bradbury, A., & Grimmer, T. (2024) Love and Nurture in the Early Years. London. Learning Matters.
Centre on the Developing Child, Harvard University (2023) Epigenetics and Child Development: How Children’s Experiences Affect Their Genes. MA: Centre on the Developing Child, Harvard University. Available at https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/what-is-epigenetics-and-how-does-it-relate-to-child-development/
If ever there was a time for love and nurture it is now. Love and Nurture approaches are intertwined and impossible to focus on in isolation. This practical book for Early Years students and practitioners includes real-life case studies and practical examples alongside academic underpinning and essential theory. It supports students to understand and explore the need for and importance of Love and Nurture in early years practice. The book focuses on key child developmental factors including brain development, attachment awareness, love languages and nurturing touch, the science of nurture, the theory of love and nurture and building relational practice.
About the authors
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