We are excited that the 3rd edition of Attached at the Heart is here from Praeclarus Press!

The 3rd Edition of Attached at the Heart includes new information:

• Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) vs. Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs).  Adverse childhood experiences can have a lifelong impact on physical and psychological health. Recent research has shown that positive childhood experiences and relational buffers can mitigate the impact of ACEs.

• Parents are their child’s emotional regulators. Babies cannot regulate intense emotions on their own. Parents must learn to self-regulate so that they can help babies regulate their emotions. This book offers trauma-informed strategies to help parents regulate their own emotions such as “Heart-focused Breathing” and other calming techniques.

• Resilience is the key to adapting to life’s ups and downs. When babies and young children receive nurturing care in the first years of their lives, it builds strong, resilient brains. As they grow older, resilience isn’t about tough love but rather guiding and teaching children strategies to navigate life’s stressors with a safety net of connection.

• The way a baby is born influences the infant’s gut microbiome. Vaginal birth is the primary way that the baby receives gut bacteria from the mother, providing a powerful head start for their immune system. Breastfeeding and skin-to-skin holding are additional ways of “seeding and feeding” the bacteria in the gut known as the microbiome.

• “Breastsleeping” is a protective way of sharing sleep. “Breastsleeping” is a new term coined by infant sleep researchers Dr. James McKenna and Dr. Helen Ball to describe the integral relationship between feeding method and sleep. Learn how mothers can be responsive even while they sleep.

• Gentle alternatives to Sleep Training. Attached at the Heart offers gentle strategies to help babies sleep without resorting to cry-it-out approaches. These tried-and-true methods have helped many exhausted parents get more sleep while still meeting their babies’ needs.

• More nature and less screen time strengthens attachment. Screens have diverted our children from enjoying heart-to-heart connection and the joys of nature. Attached at the Heart offers numerous strategies for reducing screen time and encouraging children to use nature as a classroom for learning, playing and calming.

Attached at the Heart, 3rd Edition continues to be an irreplaceable guide to raising compassionate, resilient children and ultimately making the world a happier, healthier and better place.