Center for Healthy Minds

How can we set children up for the best success and well-being later in life?

A growing body of evidence points to the importance of emotion regulation early in life for healthy social and decision-making skills throughout the lifespan.

We know the brain changes throughout life, but there are sensitive periods of development when the brain is more pliable – between birth and 2 years of age, between 4 and 6 years of age, and around puberty. These are areas our researchers are especially interested in influencing to promote well-being in children and throughout adulthood.

We’re committed to learning the best ways to promote well-being in expecting mothers, infants, children and families through pioneering research on how the brain develops in the months following birth and in the first years of life. We're studying how curricula such as our mindfulness-based Kindness Curriculum affect children’s social and educational experiences for the better and whether video games may help build skills in empathy and attention.