them is vital to ensuring the best interests of children are met, writes
Marion Dowling in the final instalment of this two-part report.
It is not possible to consider vulnerable children without considering their families. Research tells us that the brains of babies and young children are very open to influences, most importantly the attachments they form with the adults closest to them. Sue Gerhardt is clear that babies' brains develop through warm and loving relationships(1).
It follows that if these relationships are not developed then the child is at risk. A lack of emotional warmth, indifference, harsh or inconsistent parenting and parental conflict all increase the risk of emotional and behavioural problems which, over time, can lead to anti-social attitudes, substance misuse and crime(2).
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