Training Webinars | First3years

Professional Training Webinars

Embark on a journey of professional growth with our monthly webinars, curated for First3Years members and valued guests. These webinars serve as a valuable resource, offering crucial insights and best practices tailored for early childhood professionals dedicated to the well-being of infants, toddlers, and their families. As a member, you gain free access to these enriching sessions, providing you with a unique opportunity to stay abreast of the latest developments in the field. Join our vibrant community and partake in these engaging webinars, designed to equip you with the knowledge and tools essential for fostering optimal development in the youngest members of our society. Elevate your expertise and make a lasting impact with every webinar session.

2026 Webinar Schedule

Early Relational Health Within and Beyond the Dyad

July 23, 2026

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Summary:

Early Relational Health (ERH) focuses on the quality of emotional connection between infants and caregivers and the broader network of relationships that support those bonds. This webinar explores how early relationships shape regulation, resilience, and development through everyday moments such as noticing a baby’s cues, sharing affect, and repairing after stress. Participants will examine observable markers of ERH within the caregiver–child relationship and consider how professionals, systems, and communities influence relational health beyond the dyad. The session emphasizes practical ways to strengthen ERH by supporting caregiver confidence, relational skills, and trust across early childhood and family-serving systems.

Learning Objectives:
Participants will be able to:

Describe Early Relational Health and identify observable indicators of relational connection within the caregiver-infant dyad.
Explain how service delivery systems and community supports influence early relational health for infants and caregivers.
Identify culturally responsive ways professionals can strengthen early relational health within families and communities.

Suggested Endorsement Competencies:
Service Delivery Systems | Community Resources | Cultural Humility

Big Energy, Big Behavior

March 31, 2026

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Summary

Big, explosive behaviors often reflect a nervous system working hard to stay safe. This webinar focuses on high-energy stress responses, using Robyn Gobbel’s watchdog framework to make sense of behaviors that look aggressive, oppositional, or out of control. Participants will explore how and why children move into activated protection states, what the nervous system is communicating in those moments, and how adult responses can either escalate or support regulation. The session emphasizes practical, relationship-based responses that reduce power struggles and support felt safety.

Learning Objectives
Participants will be able to:

Identify common signs of high-energy protection responses using the watchdog framework.

Explain how stress, perceived threat, and nervous system activation contribute to explosive or oppositional behavior.

Select relationship-based strategies that support regulation and felt safety during moments of high arousal.

Suggested Endorsement Competencies
Infant/Young Child Development & Behavior

Responding with Empathy

Analyzing Information

The Power of Presence

August 25, 2026

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Summary:

This webinar will focus on the vital role of supportive relationships within early-childhood education and interventions. Participants will explore the ways in which relationship-based approaches promote emotional regulation, secure attachment, and healthy brain development. Learners will increase their understanding of the many ways in which fostering trusting and reflective relationships, empower parents to build strong parent–child bonds. These supportive connections contribute to increased parental confidence, reduced stress, and help buffer long-term consequences of adverse experiences.

Learning Objectives:
Participants will be able to:

Recognize how early experiences and relationships shape brain architecture and stress responses in young children.
Discuss the effects of toxic stress on development, behavior, and caregiver–child connection.
Apply relationship-based strategies that promote secure attachment and support families facing adversity.

Suggested Endorsement Competencies:

Infant/Young Child Development & Behavior

Relationship-focused Practice

When Kids Shut Down

May 18, 2026

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Summary

Not all stress responses are loud. Some children cope by withdrawing, dissociating, or becoming overly compliant. This session focuses on low-energy protection responses, drawing from Robyn Gobbel’s possum framework to understand shutdown, avoidance, and disconnection as survival strategies rather than defiance or lack of motivation. Participants will learn how to recognize subtle signs of nervous system overload and respond in ways that support safety, connection, and gradual re-engagement, especially for children whose distress is easy to miss.

Learning Objectives
Participants will be able to:

Recognize low-energy protection responses associated with shutdown, withdrawal, and dissociation using the possum framework.
Differentiate between regulated calm and stress-related compliance or disengagement.
Implement supportive responses that promote safety, connection, and gradual re-engagement for children in low-energy stress states.

Suggested Endorsement Competencies
Infant/Young Child Development & Behavior

Observation and Listening

Attachment, Separation, Trauma, Grief & Loss

Mattering Starts Early

September 23, 2026

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Summary:

A growing body of research shows that feeling valued, seen, and significant is foundational to early development and mental health. This webinar introduces the emerging science of mattering in early childhood and explores how early experiences communicate to children whether they matter. Participants will examine how caregiving interactions, environments, and systems can support or undermine a child’s sense of mattering, and why this concept is especially important for children experiencing stress, adversity, or relational disruption.

Learning Objectives:
Participants will be able to:

Define the concept of mattering and describe its role in early childhood development and mental health.
Recognize everyday interactions and systemic factors that communicate to children whether they are valued and significant.
Design at least two relational or environmental strategies that strengthen a child’s sense of mattering in caregiving or professional settings.

Suggested Endorsement Competencies:

Infant/Young Child/ Family Centered Practice

Family Relationships and Dynamics

Advocacy

Potty Learning: Moving Beyond the 3 Day Approach

April 21, 2026

9:00 AM - 10:00 AM

Summary

Potty learning begins way before a child ever sits on the potty. Learn how to communicate with parents and caregivers about changing their perspective away from a 3-day event and into a learning process.

Learning Objectives
Participants will be able to:

Understand how child development effects the process
Identify general best practices for potty learning
Support strategies for caregivers in the potty learning journey

Suggested Endorsement Competencies
Infant/Young Child Development & Behavior

Observation and Listening

Relationship-focused Practice

Pricing

Webinars are FREE for First3Years members.

Non-members may register for $15.

Students may register for $5.

Contact into@first3yearstx.org for a discount code

Links to Join the Webinar

Links will be on your receipt of registration, as well as e-mailed to you the day before.

**If you do not see the receipt in your inbox, please check your SPAM/Junk folder.**

Each webinar is broadcast live in Central Standard Time

1 Hour of Continuing Education (SW, LPC, CPE) will be provided for each webinar.