Caring for the Caregivers: Why Mental Health is Central to Early Childhood Development
When we speak about young children’s development, we often focus on learning, play, and stimulation. But at the heart of a child’s thriving lies something even more foundational: the well-being of their caregivers.
Warm, responsive relationships are the cornerstone of early development. And these relationships depend on parents, educators, and other caregivers being well—mentally, emotionally, and socially. This is not just a matter of individual resilience. It’s about the systems and support structures we build around those who care for children every day.
At ISSA, we see this reality up close. We hear it in the voices of early childhood professionals from across Europe and Central Asia. We recognize it in the needs of parents facing immense stress and in the quiet signs of burnout among teachers, home visitors, and childcare workers. This Mental Health Awareness Month, we’re turning the spotlight toward those who are so often in the background: the caregivers.
Mental Health Is Not Just the Absence of Illness
As Professor Frank Oberklaid eloquently reminds us, mental health exists on a continuum. It’s natural for parents and professionals to feel anxious or overwhelmed at times. These feelings are not signs of failure—they are signals that support is needed.
Parents raising children with disabilities or behavioural challenges, families living in poverty or displacement, and professionals working in high-stress environments all face unique pressures. But the solution is not to expect more from individuals—it’s to provide the structures that help them cope, connect, and thrive.
Self-Care Is Not a Luxury—It’s a Lifeline
In a recent panel discussion, ISSA members from Hungary, Kazakhstan, Croatia, and Serbia shared deeply personal insights about the toll caregiving can take—and the cultural barriers that make it hard to ask for help.
“How many hours of self-care have we done today?” one trainer asked. The silence that followed spoke volumes. Emotional well-being is still not widely recognized within many systems. Myths persist: that burnout is exaggerated, that it only affects older professionals, or that good caregivers should always put others first.
Yet in Croatia, 50% of new early childhood professionals have considered leaving the field due to burnout. ISSA’s trainings, including our Psychological First Aid (PFA) and Embracing Diversity programs, are working to change this. In Serbia, accredited modules now focus on social-emotional learning and mentorship. In Kazakhstan, PFA content has been embedded in teacher training programs. In Hungary, trainers use experiential methods to make self-care a lived part of professional development.
By embedding emotional resilience and peer support into the fabric of early childhood systems, our members are ensuring that self-care is not an afterthought—it’s a fundamental part of quality care.
A Shared Responsibility: From Training to Transformation
ISSA’s Foundational Training on Psychological First Aid (PFA) has reached over 14,000 professionals across 21 countries, helping them support children and themselves. Translated into 12 languages and adapted to local contexts, the training is proving both flexible and deeply impactful. But training alone is not enough.
As our members know well, real change requires system-level shifts:
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Integrating well-being into pre- and in-service training
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Recognizing self-care in professional standards
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Building supportive learning communities
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Partnering with institutions and influencing policy
These steps are already taking place across our network. In Croatia, a one-day burnout prevention course is part of teacher education. In Serbia, action research is helping teachers identify and address professional challenges. And across the region, long-term partnerships with universities are embedding well-being in the next generation of educators.
Let’s Keep Listening—and Acting
Every child deserves a nurturing environment. And every caregiver—parent or professional—deserves to be nurtured in return.
We are proud to stand with our members who are leading the way, not only in training professionals but in reshaping systems. They remind us that mental health is not a side topic—it is central to equity, inclusion, and quality in early childhood development.
As Zsuzsa László from ISSA Member, Partners Hungary said, “The key to inclusion is self-awareness, and the key to self-awareness is self-care.”
Let’s listen to those who care for our youngest citizens. Let’s equip them, support them, and advocate for them. Because behind every thriving child is a caregiver who needs—and deserves—to be cared for, too.
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