The Health Systems for Early Child Development platform is a one-stop-shop for policy makers, service providers, and service planners, where they can access latest evidence-based guidance and resources on early childhood development policies and programmes that health care systems can incorporate and build on. It is also a learning community that enables discussions and knowledge exchange on building a responsive system that addresses the needs of young children and their families. Read More →

The free app developed by UNICEF and national partners is designed to lend a helping hand to parents, with easy tips on topics like breast pumps, baby weaning, learning, toys, child protection and much more. The app is available in 14 languages and can be used both online and offline. Read More →

The ‘Responsive Interactions for Learning’ course aims to develop practitioners´ understanding of responsive interactions and increase their ability to coach these interactions with caregivers. This blog post describes how the course was developed, where it has been used (Canada, Chile, Brazil), and learnings.Read More →

This course helps you to design sustainable and culturally relevant parenting programmes that are responsive to the issues or problems in children’s development and well-being in your context. By taking this course, you will be able to prioritise issues in children’s development and define the changes you want to see in parents, make decisions about how to deliver a programme, and start to develop strategies and content for your parenting programme.Read More →

This course is a resource for parents or those who work with parents of young children to support them to provide brain-building experiences and nurturing care. You’ll gain an understanding of who the caregivers of young children are in your context. It will help you to better understand how the life experiences, environment, relationships, and beliefs of parents shape the kind of opportunities, care, and support a parent is able to provide his or her child. Knowing this will help the parent and those who work with parents to support them to overcome challenges.Read More →

This is a 7-week self-paced online course (approximately 1-3 hours per week). It begins with a review of basic ECD concepts and implementation programmes around the world, and looks at why some programmes succeed where others do less well, and what strategies are key for enabling widespread adaptation of quality programming. For those working around the world in early childhood development programmes, the course allows you to reflect and evaluate your own organization by reviewing real-world case successes, as well as a new global perspective from other learners.Read More →

Sign up for this free e-newsletter and Science of Early Child Development (SECD) will send you sample videos and other materials to inspire, engage and stir your curiosity. SECD is a knowledge translation and mobilization initiative with a global perspective that introduces and synthesizes transdisciplinary research underscoring the importance of the early years.Read More →

The Brain Architecture Game is a tabletop game that helps people appreciate the impact of early childhood experiences on outcomes across the lifespan. Your goal is to build a brain that is as tall as possible, which represents functionality, and as sturdy as possible, which represents the ability to withstand stresses. The game is a 75-90 minute experience optimized for groups of 4-6 people per table. It can be played in small workshops, conferences, and large events, with as few as 8, or as many as 300 participants.Read More →

This video, developed by the Alberta Family Welfare Initiative, describes what is meant by the concept “serve and return”. Serve and return is one of the most important forms of child and guardian interaction. It occurs when a parent or caregiver is responsive to a child’s verbal cues and actions. By providing positive feedback via eye contact, sound, words, and physical interaction, the adult helps spark the child’s interest and enthusiasm in practicing things like speech, language and social learning. Without active serve and return engagement, children can lose interest in these activities, potentially undermining the development of fundamental brain architecture.Read More →

L’Alberta Family Wellness Initiative (AFWI) [Initiative albertaine pour le bien-être de la famille] a préparé une formation en ligne visant à rendre la science d’Histoire du cerveau accessible aux professionnels et au public. Cette formation s’adresse aux personnes qui souhaitent approfondir leur compréhension du développement cérébral et des conséquences de ce dernier sur la santé tout au long de la vie. Elle s’adresse également aux professionnels de divers domaines qui cherchent à obtenir un agrément. Une formation approfondie gratuite contiene une série de 19 modules. Cette formation est pour les personnes qui veulent en savoir plus sur la science du développement cérébral. A la fin du cours, vous recevrez un certifcat sur Historie du cerveau.Read More →

The Alberta Family Wellness Initiative (AFWI) has developed an online course to make Brain Story science available to professionals and the public. Brain Story Certification is designed for those seeking a deeper understanding of brain development and its consequences for lifelong health. The course is also designed for professionals seeking certification in a wide range of fields. It is a free, in-depth course comprised of 19 modules. The course is for anyone who wants to learn more about the science of brain development. Upon successful completion of the course you will receive a certificate in Brain Story Science.Read More →

The Alberta Family Welfare Initiative has developed the “Brain Story Toolkit” comprising of videos and documents to foster understanding of brain development and the link with early childhood experiences. This four minute video, “How Brains are Built” was developed with considerable input from partners at the Harvard Center on the Developing Child and the FrameWorks Institute.Read More →

In response to this evolving understanding and a dramatic increase in research on early brain and child development, an expert workgroup of pediatricians and public health professionals revised five modules to provide the latest key information and resources on early brain development, toxic stress, ACEs, parenting and how to be an advocate in your community. In addition, a sixth supplementary module was created with a specific focus on the role of public health professionals.Read More →