Clear Cut Attachment In Children

are exposed to less frequently. As the parents meet the baby’s most basic needs, the parents continually help build attachment with their children. Clear-cut attachment is the third stage and begins when children are between the age of six to eight months and will last until the child is between eighteen months to two years. This is the stage where attachment is finally established. The infant will prefer his mother to anyone else and may experience separation when she is gone. The intensity of the anxiety is dependent upon the infant’s temperament and the way that the caregivers respond. If the mother is not present in a child’s life the primary maternal figure will replace the mother’s role known as maternal deprivation. Children will want to follow, climb on or do other things to get the mother’s attention. Attachment is strengthened by the parents continuing to meet the child’s basic needs.

This stage is set to begin around eighteen months and goes to around two years of age or above. In these years of a child’s life they are developing language and learning how to more effectively communicate with the world around them. This involves the learning of new concepts, which allows the child to better comprehend the ability of parents to come and go. The learned concept causes separation anxiety to lessen, although a child may still try tactics to get the parents to stay a little longer. A sense of security develops within the child that reassures them that their mother is not there, but will come back and is always there for him emotionally. This security was called an internal working model by Bowlby. Attachment