By Rahil D. Briggs, Psychology Today, September 21, 2021

There are many ways to think about baby, toddler, and child well-being. Perhaps you relate to the phrase “early relational health” or maybe you read the recent journal article in Pediatricsthat called out the importance of ensuring that young children have safe, stable, and nurturing relationships (SSNRs). There are conversations happening about buffering toxic stress, increasing resilience, and promoting infant and early childhood mental health.

Having many terms can be confusing, but since babies and toddlers are often left out of the mental health conversation (despite this time period being disproportionately more important than later years in terms of brain development and foundational aspects of mental health), maybe more language is a positive—one way of talking about it may stick for some and not others. In that spirit, consider the term “mattering” as another way to talk about promoting well-being for our youngest community members.

What is mattering?

According to recent research, mattering consists of two psychological experiences that complement each other: feeling valued and adding value (Prilleltensky, 2020). While it is easy to imagine an older child (or teenager or adult) feeling like they matter, it might not be immediately obvious how babies and toddlers can feel valued or add value.

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