It’s almost Valentine’s Day and hearts are everywhere. Here at the Saint Louis Crisis Nursery, we are always thinking about nurturing the hearts of the children in our care. To respond in a safe and loving way to child behaviors, the Crisis Nursery uses a strategy called the Nurtured Heart Approach®. We want to build a relationship of trust and nurture the positive self-esteem of every child who walks through our doors, giving them a foundation of love and acceptance from which to thrive. But what is the Nurtured Heart Approach® and why is it our chosen strategy for working with young children?

Developed by Howard Glasser, the Nurtured Heart Approach® uses small successes to build connection and relationship with children, while setting clear and appropriate boundaries. This builds children’s confidence and trust and ultimately creates a strong and nurturing relationship with them!

There are three pillars of the Nurtured Heart Approach®. They are:

**Absolutely, No!** I refuse to energize negativity.
**Absolutely, Yes!** I will relentlessly create and energize positivity and success.
**Absolutely Clear!** I will set and enforce clear limits and clear consequences in an unenergized way.

Any adult who has spent extended time around a child likely knows that testing boundaries is a natural and frequent occurrence for children. The Nurtured Heart Approach® is grounded in the certainty that children desire the love and attention of their caregivers, and they will do what is necessary, positive or negative, to secure that attention. Because of this, Glasser suggests that when adults give the majority of their energy, love, and attention to responsible, kind, and honest behaviors, children feel secure and begin to develop a positive sense of self, reinforcing positive behaviors. Adversely, if children receive an adult’s energy and attention for negative behaviors, those behaviors are also reinforced.

When a child comes to expect that positive behavior yields positive praise, attention, and connection with caregivers and other adults, the Nurtured Heart Approach® believes that it builds “Inner Wealth™,” a sense of inner security, confidence, and positive self-esteem that propels children toward more positive behavior.

Using the Nurtured Heart Approach® gives Crisis Nursery staff a simple and effective way to ensure that every child who visits the Nursery receives positive, nurturing and therapeutic care. This is just one of many ways that the Crisis Nursery works to ensure that all children have a safe and loving foundation from which to thrive.

Resources:

To learn more about the Saint Louis Crisis Nursery and our guiding approaches, visit our website: https://www.crisisnurserykids.org/programs.

To learn more about the Nurtured Heart Approach, click here: https://www.nurturedheartinstitute.com/about-us