Contexts for Young Child Flourishing

Darcia Narvaez, PhD, is Professor of Psychology and Director of the Moral Psychology Lab at the University of Notre Dame. She studies moral development through the lifespan with a particular focus on early life effects on the neurobiology underpinning moral functioning.Julia M. Braungart-Rieker, PhD, is Professor of Psychology and Director of the William J. Shaw Center for Children and Families at the University of Notre Dame. Her work focuses on social and emotional development during infancy and early childhood.Laura E. Miller-Graff, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Psychology and Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame. Her research examines the developmental effects of exposure to violence in childhood.Lee T. Gettler, PhD, is Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology and Director of the Hormones, Health, and Human Behavior Laboratory at the University of Notre Dame. His research focuses on the way in which men's hormonal physiology responds to major life transitions, such as marriage and fatherhood.Paul D. Hastings, PhD, is Chair and Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Davis, where he is also a member of the Center for Mind and Brain, and the Center for Poverty Research. His research focuses on examining dynamic influences between neurobiological regulatory systems and socialization experiences, and their multilevel contributions to adaptive and maladaptive socioemotional development in children and adolescents.

• PrefaceAbout the EditorsContributors SECTION 1: FOUNDATIONS FOR FLOURISHING IN YOUNG CHILDREN 1. The Flourishing of Young Children: Evolutionary Baselines Darcia Narvaez, Lee Gettler, Julia Braungart-Rieker, Laura Miller Graff and Paul Hastings 2. Life for Learning: How a Young Child Seeks Joy With Companions In a Meaningful World Colwyn Trevarthen and Jon-Roar Bjørkvold 3. Societal Contexts for Family Relations: Development, Violence and Stress Riane Eisler 4. The Role of Emotion Socialization in Promoting Child Flourishing Holly E. Brophy-Herb, Danielle Dalimonte-Merckling, Neda Senehi, and Alicia Kwon 5. Healthy Children: The Role of Emotion Regulation Julia Braungart-Rieker and Elizabeth Planalp SECTION 2: PARENTING AND FAMILY CULTURAL CONTEXTS 6. The Parental Brain - Regulation of Mother and Father Behavior that Influences Infant Development James Swain 7. Parent-Child Symbolic Relationship In-Utero: Parents' Prenatal Expectations Regarding Their Child's Temperament and Their Own Parenting Lior Abramson, David Mankuta, and Ariel Knafo-Noam 8. Wellbeing and Sociomoral Development in Preschoolers: The Relation of Maternal Parenting Attitudes Consistent with the Evolved Developmental Niche Tracy Gleason, Darcia Narvaez, Ying Cheng, Lijuan Wang, and Jeff Brooks 9. Biopsychosocial Models of Prosociality: Compassionate Love, Vagal Regulation, and Children's Altruism Jonas Miller and Paul Hastings 10. The Emergence of "Positive Parenting" as a New Paradigm: Theory, Process, and Evidence George Holden, Rose Ashraf, Erin Brannan, and Paige Baker 11. Transitions in Siblinghood: Integrating Developmental, Cultural and Evolutionary Perspectives Hillary N. Fouts and Lauren R. Bader SECTION 3: CONTEXTS OF CONFLICT 12. The Benefits of Marital Conflict: Constructiveness and Resolution as Predictors of Positive Child Outcomes Katie (Bergman) Miller, Mark Cummings, Kelly (Kuznicki) Warmuth 13. Multi-contextual influences on resilience in young children exposed to intimate partner violence Laura Miller Graff SECTION 4: COMMUNITY CONTEXTS 14. Flourishing in Transactional Care Systems: Caring with Infant and Toddler Caregivers about Wellbeing Mary B. McMullen and Kathleen McCormick 15. Enrichment and Isolation: Institutional Care and Challenges to Child Development in Jamaica Robin Nelson 16. The Elementary Classroom: A Context for Supporting Children's Flourishing Marilyn Watson SECTION 5: PRACTICAL AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS 17. Culture, Community and Context in Child Development: Implications for Family Programs and Policy Joshua Sparrow 18. Young Child Flourishing as an Aim for Society Darcia Narvaez, Paul Hastings, Julia Braungart-Rieker, Lee Gettler, and Laura Miller-Graff Index

"We live now in a social world that is poorly designed for children; and, as a consequence, our children are suffering-even those who are not born into poverty. It's high time that we understand that there is a natural environment for children's healthy development. This book is a wonderful step toward describing that environment and helping us achieve it." --Peter Gray, PhD, Research Professor, Boston College, and author of Free to Learn: Why Releasing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life"Narvaez and colleagues have again constructed a tour de force of sensible and revolutionary perspectives on optimal child rearing practices. It is long past time to realize that even near-term infants in utero already have emotional minds, built upon universal affective principles, upon which the rest of the mind is constructed-the cognitive architectures that are unique for each individual. Parents that are sensitive to the realities of their infants'emerging affective minds will help assure optimal development (even fathers talking and singing to their pre-term babies), thereby providing fundamental brain-mind tools that help assure future mental healthand happiness. [This book] is an essential guide for understanding and promoting the 'better angels of our nature' through sustained nurture." --Jaak Panksepp, PhD, Professor and Baily Endowed Chair of Animal Well-Being Science, Department of Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience, Washington State University