Relationships are essential to our social and emotional wellbeing. This is especially true for babies and very young children as they learn, explore, and form close relationships. Best Starts Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) strategy supports the social and emotional development of babies through the context of relationships. We provide opportunities for providers to enhance their knowledge, learn in community, and develop their reflective capacity to connect with the caregiver that cares for the baby.
Guiding Principles
Best Starts partnered with providers, caregivers, and community members in King County to co-design six principles to guide our work in strengthening the relationship between babies, caregivers, and providers. The full guide includes practices and examples of how to carry out each principle.
Principle 1: We honor and cherish the cultural roots and the stories of where babies of color come from.
Principle 2: We facilitate connections to be one with nature.
Principle 3: Everyone, everywhere, is impacting a baby. We are all accountable.
Principle 4: Community connections support the emotional health of children and families of color.
Principle 5: We affirm the child’s development and celebrate the child’s unique identities.
Principle 6: We honor the self-determination of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color families and caregivers.
Download the Community Co-designed Guiding Principles in Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), English, and Spanish.
Thank you!
We acknowledge and extend our gratitude to all the participants who contributed to co-designing these Guiding Principles for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health in King County. Thank you for your time, energy, and clear vision to keep building communities where babies grow to be happy, healthy, safe, and thriving.
Alejandrina Gonzalez, Belgica Jaimez, Betty Hernandez, Cecilia Martinez Vazquez, Chi Nguyen, Chloe Leipzig, Clara Serrano, Cynthia Turrietta, Daniela Vega, Ela Tinoco, Elisa Jimenez, Elizabeth Perez, Florida Steele, Hana Mohamed, Hueling Chan, Kourtney Gray, Laura Guzman, Lucy Dong, Lynne Creed, Mamounata Ouedraogo, Marcella Taylor, Maria Perez, Maria del Rocío Lopez Jimenez, Martha Aguiñiga, Melinda Burguette, Michelle Sarju, Nichelle Brown, Pamela Williams, Petrita Villalda, Safaa Sadik, Sucheta Pardikar, Tamar Devers, Velia Lara, Vitoria Lin.
Team Lead: Alicia Martinez
Consultant: Dr. Haydeé Lavariega
