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This resource showcases key details about attunement, helpful resources and ideas on how to get involved during this week!

and some helpful resources for you to use at your own events and in your communications.

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An overview of Infant Mental Health and why it is important

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A quick introduction to attunement

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Getting to know your baby can help to form an attuned relationship! This resource highlights the principles of an attuned interaction and highlights ways to get to know your baby!

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Noticing and Navigating Feelings - Video

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Noticing and Navigating Feelings - Video

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A short film on how to have attuned conversations with babies and young people and the positive impact of this!

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Noticing and navigating feelings - The Centre for Early Childhood’s Explainer series

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A Guide to Social and  Emotional Development

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A Guide to Social and  Emotional Development

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An overview from the Royal Foundation on social and emotional development. A specific section on Attunement can also be found – Page 74 onwards.

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25 THINGS EVERY BABY WOULD WANT YOU TO KNOW

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25 THINGS EVERY BABY WOULD WANT YOU TO KNOW

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Tuning in to your baby can be easier if we understand their experiences and their needs - this info sheet shares an infant's perspective

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A quick visual on how being attuned to baby's needs helps with their emotional development!

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A quick read and take on rupture and repair

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Good enough and repair – Ready to Relate

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When we are not attuned to baby's needs, this can cause what we call a "rupture" - a break in connection between us and baby. It's not always possible to be perfectly attuned to baby's needs, and that is okay! What is important, is not the absence of ruptures but the ability to repair them.

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Observing and noticing a baby's behaviour can help parents to both tune-in to their baby, and to understand their experiences. This set of videos from the Association for Infant Mental Health introduces the Baby States!

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Overview

Getting to Know Your Baby videos have been designed to help parents, caregivers, and health professionals to know how to support the development of a baby's emotional wellbeing. See categories for more videos:
To view all videos click here
Introduction & Why Bonding matters

The process of 'bonding' refers to the intense emotional connection that takes place between a mother and a baby.
To view this category click here
Bonding Before Birth

Babies' emotional health and wellbeing begin before they are born, especially in the last trimester of pregnancy.
To view this category click here
Baby States

Baby states are essentially key patterns of behaviour that are easy to recognise in new babies, and can help parents to both tune-in to their baby, and to understand his or her experiences. Once parents are able to recognise these patterns, it becomes much easier to identify what their baby's needs are. Introduce expectant parents to Baby States and encourage them to notice sleep/wake states with friends' babies. Helping parents to understand baby sleep/wake states is a good way of encouraging them to get to know their baby. AiMH UK has produced an information sheet for members; Where baby states research comes from and why it's useful.
To view this category click here
Early Interactions

These videos show that encouraging parents to carefully observe their baby's sleep/wake states and notice their cues will help them get to know how best to respond to their baby.
To view this category click here
Sleeping & Soothing

Observing baby sleep / wake states will help parents get to know their own baby's individual likes and dislikes. This will help them tune in to the particular ways that their baby likes to be soothed. This might be a particular cuddle, lullaby or just being held calmly in their parent's arms. Babies often show a preference for sucking their fingers or thumb or attach to a comfort object such as a cloth or toy.
To view this category click here

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Getting to Know Your Baby videos have been designed to help parents, caregivers, and health professionals to know how to support the development of a baby's emotional wellbeing. See categories for more videos: To view all videos click here The process of 'bonding' refers to the intense emotional connection that takes place between a mother and a baby.

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The "Head, Heart and Hands" model guides us in how we can form early relationships.

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Building Early Attuned Relationships (BEARs)

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Building Early Attuned Relationships (BEARs)

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An introduction to BEAR, a pilot project that aims to increase knowledge about early attuned relationships

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Building Early Attuned Relationships (BEARs)

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Ready to Relate has shared some insights on how to form a positive relationship with babies - this for parents who describe themselves as neurodivergent

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Neurodivergence in parenting – Ready to Relate

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We are all unique. The way our brains work is influenced by things we inherit from our parents, our genes. It’s also shaped by social and environmental factors.

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A guide on child play and how it can improve attunement and relationships!

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A series of videos from the Royal Foundation regarding infant mental health and development

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Our early childhoods, the time from pregnancy to five, fundamentally shape our whole lives. Through research, campaigns and collaboration we’re working to change the way we think and act on the early years so that together we can build a happier, healthier, more nurturing world.

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Your Baby and You - helping you find your way with your little one

The information on this page has also been translated into Arabic, Begali, Polish, Punjabi, and Urdu

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An informative video on how to promote infants' mental health

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Transcript of "How to build your baby's mental health: Mini Parenting Master Class" video

New babies are a lot of work, and parents experience a wide range of emotions when they have a new baby. They feel joy, frustration, fatigue and nervousness. There's no reason to be frightened of having mixed emotions about a new baby. Hi, I'm Dr. Lisa Damour, and this is my Mini Parenting Masterclass on how to build your baby's mental health.

I'm about to become a parent. What should I expect in terms of emotions and stress?

Becoming a parent for the first time is a huge transition. It will change everything you do. Every aspect of your life will be different now. And one of the things that we know about stress is that it happens any time we have to adapt to new conditions. And adapting to a new baby is a new condition. So expect stress. That doesn't mean anything is going wrong. It just means that you're getting used to becoming a parent. And this will get easier with time.

At what age should I start thinking about my child's mental health?

You should start thinking about your child's mental health right from the moment you meet. From the very beginning, your child will look to you for love, learning and safety. When you provide your child a warm and tender relationship, help them to feel protected, comfort them when they're upset and help them navigate the world, that's how you lay the groundwork for a lifetime of mental health.

How does stress affect the emotional development of my child?

There's a stress response that gets activated when babies become frightened or they worry that someone has forgotten them or their needs aren't getting met. Our job as parents is to help them to calm that stress response. When that stress response has calmed, everything goes back to normal and your baby actually learns that the world is a safe and reliable place. Some babies don't learn that. They are in stressful situations and they don't have the emotional support that they need to feel calm again. When children are in stressful situations and they don't have a loving adult to help them feel better, that can lay the groundwork for emotional difficulties down the line.

How can I learn to show affection and love to my child if I did not grow up with those things myself?

Parenting is hard. It's something that everybody has to learn how to do. And it's something that we can actually do a really good job with if we set our minds to it. There's so much to focus on in becoming a new parent. Here are the things that will make a huge difference and will help make sure that you give your child what you wish you had had yourself: Be attentive to your baby, pay attention to what they need, be responsive to their needs and just make sure you're a warm and steady presence. That will be everything your baby needs to get a great start in life.

How can I promote positive mental health in my family?

Decades of research have taught us that what children need are two things: They need home to be warm and they need to feel like people around there like them and they need life at home to be predictable. They need to know what to expect. They need a good sense of structure and reliability around them. So for the warmth part, enjoy your baby, enjoy your child, play with them, talk to them, cuddle them. Doing those things will feel good for your child and feel good for you, and it actually releases natural hormones that are going to help you bond with your baby.

Is it okay for me to show emotions like being angry or sad in front of my children?

You are your child's first teacher and your child's going to learn all about feelings from you. So when you have feelings, especially painful ones, you're going to want to think about how you express them, to express them in a way that is honest but not overwhelming or frightening. And then you're going to want to model how you manage having a painful or difficult feeling, such as finding an appropriate way to cope with it, going outside, taking a walk, reaching out to somebody for support. Here's the most important thing to remember: The definition of mental health is not that you feel calm and relaxed and happy all the time or that your child does. The definition of mental health is having the right feeling at the right time and knowing how to manage it appropriately.

What should I do when I feel overwhelmed?

What are some coping techniques for dealing with stress. If you're feeling overwhelmed, you should definitely take time to manage your own stress and there are lots of good ways to cope with stress to help bring it under control. First make sure you've got good social support. Everyone needs somebody to tell their worries to, and a person or a group who helps them to feel connected and accepted. Another thing that can help you if you're feeling really stressed is to find a happy distraction. Sometimes we just need to take a mental vacation. So maybe you want to read a book for a while or go spend time with someone you care about. Just take your mind off of whatever is making you stressed. That will help you reset and feel better. Finally, an important way we take care of ourselves when we're stressed is to take really good care of our bodies, make sure you're getting enough sleep, eat well and get as much physical activity as you need. Those are the things that you can do that will take good care of you and help you take good care of your baby.
Dr. Lisa Damour is a psychologist, author, New York Times contributor and mother of two.

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How to build your baby's mental health: Mini Parenting Master Class

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A psychologist's tips on helping your child to feel safe and protected

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A guide for parents on baby's needs that break downs some common myths

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Parenting tips for the first two years of life

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Parenting tips for the first two years of life

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A list of baby tips for different ages!

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Parenting tips for the first two years of life

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A series of videos on "big little moments" that can shape an infant development

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Building young brains with the Big Little Moments Babies and toddlers are growing and learning every day and the little moments you share can make a big difference. From morning time to bedtime, waiting for the bus to playing together, every moment is a chance to help build a child's brain.

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"Attunement: Using AVIG Connected Moments to Strengthen Parent Infant Relationships"

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"Attunement: Using AVIG Connected Moments to Strengthen Parent Infant Relationships"

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This is a free event offered by Little Minds Matter, aimed at professionals who work with babies from age 0-2 (or their parents).

The webinar will take place during Infant Mental Health Awareness Week #IMHAW2026, on the 10th of June from 10AM - 11AM.

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Microsoft Virtual Events Powered by Teams

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Microsoft Virtual Events Powered by Teams

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The "Principles of Attunement" can help us guide our interactions with babies

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An NHS website full of resources to help you learn how to recognise and respond to your baby’s cues.

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Bonding with your baby - Best Start in Life - NHS

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From the moment your baby is born, and even during pregnancy, your interactions with them help them feel loved and secure.

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Further resources on the "Principles of Attunement" and how to put these in practice

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Information on Video Interaction Guidance (VIG) - a brief intervention that promotes attunement

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Video Interaction GuidanceTM (VIG) is a strengths-based, brief intervention that promotes attunement, sensitivity, and mentalization in relationships. The principles and practice can be used to work within any relationship.

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A collection of practitioners experiences on how they notice, interpret and respond to babies’ experiences in their work.

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Information on how babies communicated with us!

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Think Baby toolkit is to support practitioners in deepening their connection with babies and their families

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The following link takes you to an interactive map with different parent-infant services. You can write down your postcode to find the closest one to you!

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Map of teams and services - Parent-Infant Foundation

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There are currently 51 parent-infant teams in the UK. Click on our map to find your nearest. There are currently 51 specialised Parent-Infant Relationship Teams (known as Infant Mental Health Teams in Scotland) and many more developing services across the UK. Our definition of a specialised Parent-Infant Team, developed from…

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PIMHS (Parent Infant Mental Health Service) supports the

relationship between you and your baby. There are various services across the Greater Manchester area. If you think you need support, speak to your: midwife, health visitor, GP or social worker

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Support for fathers to help improve their mental health, parental confidence, and improve relationships with their families and their babies during the crucial first 1001 days.

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To help us keep this website secure, please wait while we verify you’re not a robot! It will only take a few seconds…

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Our lovely nursery nurses across the Specialist Perinatal Service are holding an event at Heaton Park for parents!