A simple, evidence-informed way to strengthen early relationships
Every baby is born ready to relate. Ready to Relate brings this idea to life by supporting parents to understand their baby, feel more confident, and build strong early connections.
Using simple visual tools and supportive conversations, this intervention creates space for parents and practitioners to notice, understand, and respond to babies together.
Following more than a year of in-depth research with Ready to Relate including close collaboration with families and clinicians in Bradford and Hull research teams from the Universities of York and Huddersfield are share what they have learned.
Published research
The full findings are published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Infant Mental Health.
Read the full paperSarah and Zoe focus on interventions for children and families, highlighting the role of parental mental health. They gather insights from parents and practitioners to improve support access. Their collaboration with Bradford District Care Trust emphasises the importance of infant relationships. Initial interviews reveal parents appreciate learning about brain development, while practitioners seek more training.
We know anecdotally, from our experience as professionals using Ready to Relate, just how valuable it is. But we wanted independent research to validate what we were seeing—something that could demonstrate its impact in a more rigorous way and help others feel confident about using it too.
It’s about ensuring the approach stands up to scrutiny and can be shared more widely.
What the research shows
Ready to Relate has been formally evaluated through a qualitative study involving parents and practitioners across services in Bradford.
The research found that Ready to Relate is:
- Highly acceptable to both parents and professionals
- Easy to use in a range of settings, including routine contacts
- Effective in supporting meaningful conversations about relationships
Participants described clear, positive impacts for babies, parents and practitioners.
Key benefits identified
The study showed that Ready to Relate helps to:
Support babies
- Encourages parents to see their baby as an individual with thoughts, feelings and ways of communicating
- Promotes more responsive, attuned interactions
Build parent confidence and wellbeing
- Increases understanding of baby cues and development
- Builds confidence and reassurance
- Provides practical ways to cope with the challenges of early parenting
Strengthen relationships
- Enhances bonding and enjoyment between parent and baby
- Creates more shared moments of connection
Improve conversations and support
- Helps practitioners introduce sensitive topics in a non-judgemental, accessible way
- Encourages open discussion about parent–infant relationships
- Supports identification of additional needs where needed
Real voices, real impact
Parents say
It just put a lot of confidence in myself… and helped me bond with my baby.
We just have more bonding time now — it’s been lovely.
I felt very light after reading the pack. I felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders as well because it gave me coping mechanisms about how that I can cope with dealing with the anxiety, dealing with the stress that I was experiencing as well. So, to be honest, it really, really did help me deal with that.
Because he’s learning, I’m learning, and we’re just growing together now.
Practitioners say
It’s an opening to really important conversations.
It helps parents see what they’re already doing well.
It makes talking about relationships feel natural and non-judgmental.
Why it works
The research highlights that Ready to Relate is more than just materials — it’s about the quality of the conversation between parent and practitioner.
Its success comes from:
- A strengths-based approach
- Simple, visual and memorable content
- Skilled, supportive conversations
- Flexibility to meet each family’s needs
It’s a simple idea with lasting impact. Ready to Relate helps shift the focus from “getting it right” to being together, noticing, and responding.
By supporting confident parents and connected relationships, it lays the foundations for healthy development and lifelong wellbeing.
