National Scientific Council on the Developing Child Working Paper #9 February 2010

Serious fear-triggering events can have long-lasting impacts on the developing child, beginning in infancy.  These children need to be in responsive and secure environments that restore their sense of safety, control, and predictability.  Programs and policies would have considerably stronger impacts if their focus also included the children’s developmental needs, beginning in the prenatal period.  Prenatal home visiting for first-time mothers provided by trained nurses is one example of a program whose effectiveness has been documented by randomized controlled trials in multiple locations.

National Scientific Council on the Developing Child (2010). Persistent Fear and Anxiety Can Affect Young Children’s Learning and Development: Working Paper No. 9. Retrieved from www.developingchild.harvard.edu

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