Early Relational Health: Building Foundations for Child, Family, and Community Well-Being
2025

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Early relationships are foundational for lifelong health, learning, and well-being. Mutual, meaningful, and affirming moments of connection in the youngest relationships support brain development, resilience, and social-emotional growth. These experiences, known as early relational health (ERH), can also buffer the impacts of adversity and help create pathways toward thriving children, families, and communities.

Early Relational Health: Building Foundations for Child, Family, and Community Well-Being provides evidence-based opportunities for advancing ERH. Developed by a committee of experts, this report highlights opportunities for practice, policy, and research to strengthen supportive relationships. It emphasizes asset-based approaches, family and community leadership, workforce supports, and cross-sector collaboration to promote ERH across health care, education, and social systems.

Publication information

191 pages · 6 x 9 · paperback
ISBN Paperback: 0-309-99594-9
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-60050-2
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17226/29234

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National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2025. Early Relational Health: Building Foundations for Child, Family, and Community Well-Being. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

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Front Matter i-xiv
Summary 1-7
1 Introduction 8-18
2 Understanding Early Relational Health 19-39
3 Influences on Early Relational Health 40-59
4 Supporting Early Relational Health in Early Childhood Systems 60-91
5 Opportunities for Policies and Investments to Advance Early Relational Health 92-109
6 Future Directions for Research 110-171
Appendix: Committee Member and Staff Biographies 172-177

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Early Relational Health: Building Foundations for Child, Family, and Community Well-Being (2025)

Chapter: Front Matter

Publication information

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Early Relational Health: Building Foundations for Child, Family, and Community Well-Being (2025)

Chapter: Front Matter