Informed by neuroscience and the prevalence and impacts of trauma including the polyvagal theory, the impacts of nervous system states on body and brain functioning, and effective in increasing the sense of felt safety.  Compliance based, punishment driven approaches are not informed because they decrease a sense of felt safety and increase stress to damaging levels. 

Nurturing environments allow for a sense of felt safety; a subjective experience of feeling safe in an environment. Felt safety goes beyond the absence of physical danger to include a person’s emotional and psychological security and feeling safe from internal fears as well and external threats.   Felt safety includes feeling safe physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially.

Unconditional support means that co-regulation, connection, and nurturing are available without exception.  Our children need and deserve unconditional love and support from their caregivers not only in their best moments, but also in their most vulnerable moments when they are the most difficult to love.  That's when they need it the most.

In equitable situations, everyone gets their needs met in a way that offsets the power differentials that exist.  That means those with more resources and power take on the most responsibility to change the things that they can change.   While everyone considers their role in situations, adults have a greater ability to change their approach and the environments than children do.

Relationships are the most important thing.  Having close, trusting, in-tune, relationships with children is absolutely essential.  These relationships allow us to "read" children, to gauge their capacity in the moment, to adjust expectations accordingly, and to predict and prevent the meltdowns that lead to crisis and emergency situations.   Many undesirable situations can be prevented with relationships.

Inclusive environments strive to allow everyone to feel welcome, safe, and cherished, differences are viewed as strengths, and there is a deep effort to meet everyone's needs.  In inclusive communities, everyone has an important role where they can contribute using their strengths and develop at a level that is calibrated to their resources in the moment.  We all benefit when we live and learn in inclusive environments.