At BestStart Petone, our Infant and Toddler team is currently engaged in a meaningful inquiry into how our youngest tamariki experience emotional support, and how their emotional needs are being met through an attachment-focused approach to learning.
This work has now progressed to the action stage, where we are actively implementing what we’ve discovered into our daily practice.
Why Emotional Support and Attachment Matter?
In the first years of life, infants and toddlers rely on consistent, loving relationships with trusted adults to feel safe and secure. These early connections lay the groundwork for all areas of development — cognitive, emotional, and social.
Drawing on insights from Brainwave Trust Aotearoa, we’ve learned that emotional responsiveness is not just supportive — it’s essential for healthy brain development. In fact, during the first three years, a child’s brain forms more than a million neural connections every second. These connections are shaped by the relationships and interactions they experience every day. When children feel secure and understood, their brains are primed for learning. When they are stressed or emotionally disconnected, learning and development can be disrupted.
Strengthening the Key Teacher Approach
Through our inquiry, we’ve recognised the key teacher approach as central to meeting our infants’ and toddlers’ emotional needs. A strong key teacher relationship creates a secure base from which children can explore, build confidence, and form positive relationships with others. Our investigations have shown that when a child has a consistent, emotionally attuned teacher who knows them well — their routines, their cues, their unique personalities — they feel more settled, confident, and ready to engage in learning. This connection also supports emotional regulation and helps tamariki feel safe enough to express their needs and feelings.
From Inquiry to Action
Now in the action phase, our Infant and Toddler kaiako are: Reinforcing Primary Relationships: Ensuring that each child has a key teacher who is consistently present and emotionally available, particularly during care moments like nappy changes, feeding, and settling. Focusing on Responsive Practice: Slowing down and being present — taking time to tune into each child’s cues, respond with warmth, and build trust through gentle, predictable interactions.
Reflecting as a Team
Holding regular reflective hui to discuss how individual children are experiencing emotional support, and how our environment and routines can better support secure attachments.
Strengthening Whānau Partnerships
Deepening conversations with parents and caregivers to ensure alignment between home and centre, and to honour the emotional rhythms and needs of each child.
What We’re Learning
This inquiry has reminded us that emotional wellbeing is foundational to learning — not something separate from it. When infants and toddlers feel emotionally supported, their capacity to engage, explore, and connect grows. Our team is seeing the difference this work is making: tamariki are more settled, transitions are smoother, and relationships are deeper.
By grounding our practice in the science of early brain development and the wisdom of responsive care, we are building a strong, secure foundation for each child — one loving interaction at a time.