Nurturing Childcare

What is Nurturing Care?

To reach their full potential, children need the five inter-related and indivisible components of nurturing care: good health, adequate nutrition, safety and security, responsive caregiving and opportunities for learning.

In the first years of life, parents, intimate family members and caregivers are the closest to the young child and thus the best providers of Nurturing Care. This is why secure family environments are important for young children. In order to provide caregivers with time and resources to provide nurturing care, policies, services and community supports need to be in place.

Some examples of nurturing behavior are:

• The ability to nurture measures the extent to which a caregiver is available and able to sensitively meet the needs of a child.

• Being fully present in your interactions with children (verbally and non-verbally), validating their feelings, providing physical affection and comfort when sought, laughing and playing games, providing safe mental, physical and social challenges that promote healthy growth.