Developmentally Informed,Trauma Aware Nurture Approach

What does serve and return mean and why is it important to development? Serve and return describes the communication patten between an infant and their carer. Even young babies delight in taking turns in the way they interact with others. The communication dances to and fro, backwards and forwards with both carer and baby focused on each other. The baby starts to babble and coo using tone, inflection and total concentration. The mother/carer listens intently before taking a turn to chat. Instinctively using parentese, the rhythmic way of talking, that captures the attention of the child. This wonderful interaction, not only increases the bond between parent and child but is contributing to the rapid development of neural pathways.

Reflecting back, I remember how wonderfully proud I used to feel when my daughter, Lucy, and I shared lengthy 'conversations'. Little did I know I was helping her brain to develop! 🙂