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Child development assignment
The relationship between a parent and child
Strengths of attachment theory
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Learning the details of attachment theory and how it greatly impacts our development was extremely enlightening. With a background in child development, I understood the importance of attachment. However, my undergrad courses merely grazed the surface of attachment theory. Before beginning the course, I understood the importance of parenting on child development. My understanding became clearer as the semester progressed, for what I thought I knew was only the beginning. I knew parenting consisted of helping your children in each domain of development, with each domain being equally important. During class, however, I learned that social emotional development is tremendously essential, which develops from attachment. My knowledge of attachment …show more content…
Similarly to how Braden was raised, the mother was extremely responsive to Owen’s every needed. I dreaded looking after Owen. Owen was extremely attached to his mother and lacked the ability to self-regulate. When I looked after him, he would be content for approximately 20 minutes but would then look for his mother. I chased him up stairs several times because he wanted to be with his mom. I would have to offer him different playing options in order to get him to stay downstairs with me because his mother needed to work. When Owen woke up from his naps, he cried until his mother returned home from her errands or it was extremely difficult to calm him down. At the time, I did not know what to do and I did not know how to bring this topic up to his mother. From my experience, most parents hate being told how to parent their child and I certainly did not want to offend the mother. Both of her boys needed help but I did not know or understand how to help them. It is interesting to reflect back on this time and apply what I now know about the …show more content…
Although I was studying Child and Adolescent Development at the University, I was not able to provide her with proper parenting practices. She knew she needed help because she did not know how to parent. She sought out information but it was the wrong information. Braden’s mother strongly believed in Attachment Parenting. She raised Braden with the notion that she needed to be present 100% of the time, which is how she is raising her second son as well. When Braden cried, she was there to hold him or offer him milk and when he was tired, she breastfed him to sleep. I now understand that Braden’s mother was too attuned to him and Owen. By being extremely attuned and responsive to her sons, she was not allowing them regulate their own emotions. She solved almost any issue with breast milk. If the baby was crying she gave them milk, until it soon became a “crutch” for the boys. The mother needed to be attuned and responsive to her boys, while also allowing them space to understand their emotions. Consequently, the boys did not know how to self-regulate their emotions because mom was always there to regulate their emotion for them when they were upset. It is understandable that the mother simply wanted to give her children everything she had but she would have benefited immensely by knowing that her boys would have learned a lot more if she were not attuned 100% of the time. The mother needed
...s one with the knowledge necessary to incorporate methods for evoking change and empathize. It becomes easier to understand how certain maladaptive behaviors are developed as certain characteristics are learned patterns and not solely based on one’s personality. There are very many areas of attachment that need to be studied. As the population of minorities, working mothers, single parent homes, and children in the foster care system rise the ability to assess their ability to attach as well as develop new attachments is crucial. The works by Bowlby, Ainsworth, and Main have provided me with new interest in the attachment styles of children to their caregivers. It has allowed me to adjust the way in which I interact with my own daughter and other children in my presence to help establish new and beneficial adult attachments so that they can grow and feel empowered.
Attachment theory could be considered one of the most important aspects of how we develop starting out as an infant. In the article “Can Attachment Theory Explain All Our Relationships” By: Bethany Saltman, she explains to us her personal experience and struggles raising her daughter, and her experience as a child and her own attachment. There are three types of attachment types, secure, avoidant, and resistant and the trouble with today is that only 60% of people are considered “secure”. There also subgroups that are called disorganization. Attachment will often pass generation to generation, so it is likely that if someone has an insecure attachment because of the way they were raised they will struggle to create a secure attachment for their own children. Although it can be reversed and changed with the
The attachment theory, presented by Mary Ainsworth in 1969 and emerged by John Bowlby suggests that the human infant has a need for a relationship with an adult caregiver, and without a subsequent, development can be negatively impacted (Hammonds 2012). Ainsworth proposes that the type of relationship and “attachment” an infant has with the caregiver, can impact the social development of the infant. As stated by Hammonds (2012), attachment between a mother and a child can have a great impact on the child 's future mental
Criticisms of attachment theory have come mainly from the feminist schools of thought since the theory has been used to argue that no woman with a young child should work outside the home or spend time away from her baby (Goodsell and Meldrum, 2010). Children’s experience and development also depend on what happens after early years, whether bad or good later in life may change a child’s emotional development, e.g. lack of basic needs, diet, education, stimulation such as play might affect a child’s development (Rutter, 1981). Differences in cultures have to be taken into consideration as well. A study by Schaffer and Emmerson (1964) provided contradictory evidence for Bowlby’s attachment theory. They noted attachment was more prominent at eight months, and afterwards children became attached to more than one person.
The first topic that came up in the interview relates to idea of attachment theory. Attachment theory explains the human’s way of relating to a caregiver and receives an attachment figures relating to the parent, and children. In addition, the concept explains the confidence and ability for a child to free explore their environment with a place to seek support, protection, and comfort in times of distress (Levy, Ellison, Scott, and Bernecker, 2010, p. 193). Within attachment theory explains different types of attachment styles that children experience during early childhood. These attachment styles affect the relationships they continue to build in adulthood. The best attachment style happens when the parent is attuned to the child during his or her early childhood called secure attachment (Reyes, 2010, p. 174). In order for complete secure attachment, the child needs to feel safe, seen, and soothed. Any relationship that deviates from this model represents the anxious or insecure attachment. This means that parents or caregivers are inconsistently responsive to the children. Children who have these parents are usually confused and insecure. Some children experience a dismissive attachment where they
The attachment process plays a crucial role in a child’s development and their future impact on society According to Dr Suzanne Zeedyk. Children can’t feel relaxed and safe with the adults & children in the nursery until they get to know them. If there’s a lack of affection towards a child they may be reluctant to take advantage of all the learning opportunities because of their anxiety. We now know that relationships literally shape the neural connections in young children’s brains. This means everything that happens or doesn’t happen for the child will leaves a physiological trace in their growing brain. According to Dr Suzanne
It has been proposed that infant attachment styles do not change after the first year of life, the following essay will argue against this prompt in that ones attachment style will change continuously throughout life. Attachment theory is based on the joint work of Bowlby and Ainsworth (Bretherton, 1992). In recent years the idea of ‘attachment’ has become and increasingly popular debate within developmental psychology (Bretherton, 1992). Attachment theory provides an explanation on how parent and child relationships are formed and the important role they play in child development. However majority of the research into attachment has focused on identifying the stability of attachment rather then identifying the possible insatiability of
The attachment style that a child endures with their mother initially begins before the child is even born. In the mother’s womb, the infant becomes aware of their mother and father’s voices, where they begin to develop a bond with them and feel nurtured and comforted by the things they hear their parents sing and speak to them. According to Bowlby, the development of attachment takes place in four different phases and are reinforced as they grow older from the Preattachment (birth to age 6 weeks), attachment-in-the-making (age 6 weeks to 8 months), clear cut attachment (between 8 months to 1 ½ years of age) and the reciprocal relationship (from 1 ½ or 2 and on). As the child grows older, then begin to understand their parent’s feelings and motives and are able to organize their efforts and reciprocate the same i...
Sroufe, L.A., & Waters, E. (1977). Attachment as an organizational construct. Child Development. 48, 1-5, 7, 10-12.
Infant attachment is the first relationship a child experiences and is crucial to the child’s survival (BOOK). A mother’s response to her child will yield either a secure bond or insecurity with the infant. Parents who respond “more sensitively and responsively to the child’s distress” establish a secure bond faster than “parents of insecure children”. (Attachment and Emotion, page 475) The quality of the attachment has “profound implications for the child’s feelings of security and capacity to form trusting relationships” (Book). Simply stated, a positive early attachment will likely yield positive physical, socio-emotional, and cognitive development for the child. (BOOK)
“Attachment is as essential for the child’s psychological well-being as food is for physical health,” claimed Bowlby, B (2001, p.54). Bowlby claimed in this statement that attachment is a necessary thing that a child needs in order to develop healthily. There is evidence from other theorists who support Bowlby’s theory of attachment, such as Harlow, whose approach is based upon a caregiver’s sensitivity and attachment. Ainsworth is another theorist whose research supports Bowlby’s theory of attachment. In her strange situation study, she tested for the attachment types and what effects they had on a child’s behaviour.
Justin, a boy who was raised in a dog cage until the age of five, suffered similar neglect as those mentioned earlier. Justin was kept in a dog cage and rarely interacted with his caregiver, who lacked the attachment bond needed for later development; his only attachment came from dogs (). In regards to the four factors that help strengthen the attachment between a child and caregiver, contemporary factors played a role in this situation. Contemporary factors are influenced by the abilities of an adult needed to provide a strong and stable attachment (). Justin was left in the care of his grandmother, but when his grandmother passed away, he was left in the care of Arthur, the grandmother’s boyfriend Arthur. Arthur was an elderly man who never had children and was limited on how to raise a child. Other contemporary factors such as the confidence and self-control needing to raise a child carry over into the child’s attachment development (). Within Connor’s case, he suffered neglect from birth to 18 months (). Connor had been neglected throughout all stages of development, which in result limited his ability to form a secure attachment and be able to rely on others for support and comfort. Connor was left alone throughout the day, creating an inconsistent and unstable perspective on how
Life without emotions would lack meaning, texture, richness, joy and the connection with others (Leahy, R.L., et al, 2012). Emotion can be defined as various states of feelings, thoughts and verbal interactions that individuals can experience (White el al., 2012). It is from this that individuals are able to create relationships with others, in this case infants are able to create attachments to their parents. For the purpose of this essay, emotions can be categorised into two parts; over-regulation and under-regulation. Over-regulation is one's ability to suppress evidence of emotional distress in various situ...
Erikson believes that during this stage, children will seek approval from others by displaying skills that are valued by others. Additionally, he believes that if this initiative continues, the child will develop confidence in their ability to achieve their goals. During the first few stages of both theories, we see challenges in the development of the child and we also see challenges that a child might face during some, if not all, forms of attachment theory. For example, a parent ignoring the child and speaking to them in a negative manner during insecure-avoidant attachment can be challenging for a child and lead to insecurities and the feeling of not being loved and/or wanted.
If a caregiver is unkind or unresponsive the child will likely develop a dysfunctional attachment to the parent that they carry on into adulthood (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015). Thankfully my mother was quite attentive, she held me when I cried, she grew up in the era where a baby could never be held too much. Through this I feel as though I developed a very secure attachment to my mother. As an adult we do not always see eye to eye, yet, I feel as though I am able to form my own opinions without fear of recourse or rejection. Both she and my step-father say how proud they are of me and the woman, mother, and wife that I have become. Being that my mother was a single parent and worked full time I spent a lot of time in the care of others. Our text highlights the risk to Mother-infant attachment about daycare, especially poor-quality care situations. My mother was always vigilant when it came to my care, I was always enrolled with in-home caregivers which my mother had screened diligently. This early time, birth to two-years, is the sensorimotor stage according to Piaget. During this time, I would be