About Us

Who We Are

We’re the Growing Movement to Promote Early Relational Health

Nurture Connection advances Early Relational Health (ERH) so that all families can experience the joy and lifelong health benefits that come from strong, positive, and nurturing relationships in early childhood.

Our work is in service to build a society where emotional connection is universally promoted so all children have the strongest start in life and are able to achieve their unique, boundless potential. 

By nurturing early positive relationships, we can provide a powerful road map to healthier, more connected communities.  

We’re Guided by the Wisdom of Families

Nurture Connection’s mission of promoting positive connections is made powerful by the generational knowledge that flows through families — shaped by their cultures, traditions, and histories. But we also know that so many of our nation’s families and communities carry feelings of being overloaded and isolated and are held back due to persistent and entrenched racism. 

For this reason, every aspect of our work is centered on ensuring equity and justice for every family. We are guided by the ideas and experiences of families and are working together actively to remove obstacles that can hinder the building of positive and enduring emotional connection.

The Family Network Collaborative Parent Leaders Share Their Thoughts

One reason that Early Relational Health (ERH) concepts are catching fire is because the growing Nurture Connection movement through its commitment and focus on family partnership is being guided by the wisdom and expertise of parents.

A Conversation with the Family Network Collaborative >

We’re Networked and Engaged

To make Nurture Connection’s vision a reality, all of us who are deeply invested in the health and well-being of children and families must come together with our most expansive ideas to build equitable and transformative solutions that promote emotional connection. 

Every voice, every expertise, and every community — parents and caregivers, doctors and doulas, community health workers and leaders, policymakers and researchers, and neighborhoods, cities, and states — play a role in building our networked and engaged movement across geographies, systems, sectors, and expertise and contributing to our strategies for success.

Our Commitment to Our Mission and the Power of Our Beliefs Push Us Forward

See What Guides Us

Early Relational Health Explained

Early Relational Health — or the state of emotional well-being that grows from the positive emotional connection between babies and toddlers and their parents and caregivers when they experience strong, positive, and nurturing relationships with each other — is critical to creating healthy children, healthy families, and healthy communities.

Why Early Relational Health Matters