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This how-to video breaks down serve and return into 5 simple steps and features adults and young children doing each step together. Serve and return interactions shape brain architecture. When an infant or young child babbles, gestures, or cries, and an adult responds appropriately with eye contact, words, or a hug, neural connections are built and strengthened in the child’s brain that support the development of communication and social skills. Much like a lively game of tennis, volleyball, or Ping-Pong, this back-and-forth is both fun and capacity-building. When caregivers are sensitive and responsive to a young child’s signals and needs, they provide an environment rich in serve and return experiences. Because responsive relationships are both expected and essential, their absence is a serious threat to a child’s development and well-being. Healthy brain architecture depends on a sturdy foundation built by appropriate input from a child’s senses and stable, responsive relationships with caring adults. If an adult’s responses to a child are unreliable, inappropriate, or simply absent, the developing architecture of the brain may be disrupted, and subsequent physical, mental, and emotional health may be impaired. The persistent absence of serve and return interaction acts as a “double whammy” for healthy development: not only does the brain not receive the positive stimulation it needs, but the body’s stress response is activated, flooding the developing brain with potentially harmful stress hormones. The FIND program uses video coaching to strengthen serve and return interactions between caregivers and children. Photo courtesy of FIND.Building the capabilities of adult caregivers can help strengthen the environment of relationships essential to children’s lifelong learning, health, and behavior. A breakdown in reciprocal serve and return interactions between adult caregivers and young children can be the result of many factors. Adults might not engage in serve and return interactions with young children due to significant stresses brought on by financial problems, a lack of social connections, or chronic health issues. Caregivers who are at highest risk for providing inadequate care often experience several of these problems simultaneously. Policies and programs that address the needs of adult caregivers and help them to engage in serve and return interactions will in turn help support the healthy development of children. Questions & Answers
Explore Related ResourcesWhat occurs when the caregiver and the infant focus on the same object or event?This important phenomenon, where the baby and caregiver both attend to the same thing and are mutually aware they are doing so, is called “joint attention”.
When can infants focus on objects about as well as adults can?Reaching toward an object with both hands, babies may grasp at toys with their palms. Babies gain more control of their muscles between 6 and 9 months of age as the nervous system connections continue to form. By the 7th month, babies can see almost as well as an adult.
What is the term for play in which children together to manipulate objects to produce or build something?This type of play can also be described as manipulative play. A child uses their hands to manipulate toys and objects to learn about how to use them. This includes construction play, arts and crafts and tool-use (e.g. scissors) and helps to develop eye-hand co-ordination.
Why is joint attention important for learning during infancy?Attention skills — Joint attention helps little ones learn to sustain focus, as well as shift focus back and forth between two things. Research has found that infants' attention span suffers when joint attention is disrupted by parents' eyes wandering during playtime.
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