Research in review: the development of nurturance in young children

An important, perhaps essential, adult characteristic is the motivation and ability to be a skillful and sensitive caregiver. This ability is the core of effective parenting and is also needed by nonfamily child care providers, caregivers for the handicapped and elderly, loving partners, and even pet owners or plant growers. Nurturance involves fostering the development of another, whether it be animal, or plant in one's care, and, more broadly speaking, the people one supervises at work, coworkers, students, neighbors, friends, lovers, and all family members of whatever age. In this review, we look at the developmental roots of nurturance in early childhood and assess evidence that relates to the question "Under what conditions might young children display nurturant behaviors?" Thus we examine factors such as child characteristics (for example, the child's sex or age), characteristics of the object of nurturance (for example, the behavior of an infant who might be nurtured by an older child), and selected aspects of the situation (for example, the involvement of adults in encouraging the child to be nurturant) that may affect how nurturance develops.