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Importance of attachment in child development
Role of attachment during infancy
The role of attachment in infancy
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Culture is a defining factor in our lives. It can dictate how we see ourselves, how we socialize, and how we care for others. This encompasses child rearing practices. Pregnancy, childbirth and a child’s upbringing can vary greatly depending on the culture(s) of their parents. In the United States, mothers take precautions during pregnancy, generally deliver in a hospital, and raise their children with the support of relatives, day care programs and child care providers. In Vietnam, women are put on dietary restrictions during pregnancy, babies can be birthed at home if a hospital is inaccessible, and the mother traditionally takes the primary role in raising the child. In my research, I observed differences between American and Vietnamese views on child rearing practices, which incorporate child care and discipline, which I go on to discuss in my paper. Every parent, regardless of their culture, senses that the bond created between an infant and their caregiver is an important interaction. A secure attachment is developed when a child becomes agitated when leaving their caregiver, but is immediately soothed by the return of their presence. Insecure attachment can result in indifference, distress or confusion “in response to reunion with their attachment figure” (Rathus, 2010, p. 208-209). One way American culture assists in the formation of a secure attachment is with maternity leave. Mothers are allotted 12 weeks to care for their newborns. In this time, the mother heals, the baby grows, and the bond can form. Some mothers choose to regulate their work schedule to spend more time with their children, or transition to a role as a stay-at-home mom. In Vietnamese cultures, a mother’s primary place is in the household, and the chil... ... middle of paper ... ...010). Childhood: voyages in development (Fourth Edition ed.). Belmont: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning. Ruiz-Casares, M., & Heymann, J. (2009). Children Home Alone Unsupervised: Modeling Parental Decisions and Associated Factors in Botswana, Mexico, and Vietnam. Child Abuse & Neglect: The International Journal, 33(5), 312-323. Rydstrom, H. (2006). Masculinity and Punishment: Men's Upbringing of Boys in Rural Vietnam. Childhood: A Global Journal Of Child Research, 13(3), 329-348. Some aspects of vietnamese culture in child rearing practices . (n.d.). Acacia. Retrieved February 17, 2014, from http://www.acacia.org.au/resources/someaspectsofvietnamesecultureinchildrearingpractices.pdf Vietnamese ethnicity and background. (2009, November 5). Queensland Health. Retrieved February 17, 2014, from http://www.health.qld.gov.au/multicultural/health_workers/vietnamese-preg-prof.pdf
There are also cultural differences in the four attachment theories and this is possibly based on different countries where infants are either separated more or less from their caregivers than in the United States (Broderick, P., & Blewitt, P., 2015). However, it is good to know that maternal sensitivity and attachment security has been successfully replicated across cultures so it seems as though with infancy that there are not too many cultural differences when it comes to these relationships (Broderick, P., & Blewitt, P., 2015). What needs to be kept in mind about cultural differences is the differences in context across cultures and how different meanings and connects can be
Chinese parenting is competent at times but there are other times where it is more suitable to follow other forms of parenting such as the Western style.These findings have important consequences for the broader domain of parent-child relationships. Whether it is Chinese parenting or Western parenting the relationship between family members is crucial. According to Amy Chua, Chinese parenting is more effective in helping the child attain a better future through the parents’ interests, while Western parenting style reflects mainly the interests of the child.
Hmong parents feared that their children would forget and abandon the values of the culture and traditions that has been in the Hmong communities for many generations (Lee et al., 2009). Therefore, Hmong parents became stricter on their children as a way to cope with their worries (Lee et al., 2009; Supple & Small, 2006). Hmong parental control over their children came in forms of one-way communication from the parent to the children, controlling their children’s behavior, monitoring their children’s activities, restricting their children’s freedom, verbal warnings, and physical punishment (Lee & Green, 2008; Pang, 1997; A. Supple et al., 2010; A. Supple & Small, 2006; Xiong et al., 2005). Although Hmong parents saw this as a way to protect their children and preserve their culture values and traditional practices, Hmong students perceived authoritarian parenting as being presumptuous (Supple et al., 2010). Hmong students found it difficult to understand the desire for parental control and the value for wanting to retain the Hmong culture since they are now living in the United States (Supple et al., 2010).
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.
An infant’s initial contact with the world and their exploration of life is directly through the parent/ primary caregiver. As the child grows, learns, and develops, a certain attachment relationship forms between them and the principle adult present in this process. Moreover, this attachment holds huge implications concerning the child’s future relationships and social successes. Children trust that their parental figure will be there; as a result, children whom form proper attachments internalize an image of their world as stable, safe, and secure. These children will grow independent while at the same time maintaining a connection with their caregivers. (Day, 2006). However, when a child f...
The article “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior” by Amy Chua demonstrates the two different mind sets of parenting: Chinese parenting and Western approach to parenting. In my view, Chinese parenting is very strict about school work and extracurricular activities such as pianos and violins. For example, if we compare the two different sets of parenting; Chua says, for instance that Western parents believe that they are strict by forcing their kids practice their instruments for 30 minutes a day at most to an hour. This is nothing compared to the Chinese parents that would say the first hour of practice is easy it’s the second or third hour that gets tough (Chua 2011). This shows how forcefully strict the Chinese parents are compared to Western parents. The Chinese parents would say anything that really has to be said to their kid’s straight forward, but the Westerns would go about telling their kids, so it won’t hurt their feelings or their self-esteem. A few of these examples come to show that Chinese parents have intelligent kids, but are they intelligent enough for society? In other words are these Chinese children capable to work in group projects compared to an American kid that lives the usually life as a kid; like going to sleepovers and participating in different school activities. This is what David Brooks actually discusses about in his article “Amy Chua Is a Wimp”, says that Amy Chua’s way of parenting which is Chinese parenting isn’t effective enough. Well sure their kids are very intelligent and get high grades, but can they participate in well-functioning groups? One thing that Chinese parenting lacks in is a skill set that is not taught formally, but is imparted through strenuous experiences. This is exactly what Chua...
There are big differences in how Chinese mothers act towards their children compared to Western mothers including the expression of feelings and approval, the worth of their children, and what is best for them. Amy Chua (2011) incorporates her own personal experiences of being a Chinese mother within her article and compares that to what she witnesses in America.
Let us take a look at the most important factor that determines the health of our adult relationships; that is infant attachment. From the time that an infant is born, those around him influence the way a child will act or react in any given relationship. It provides a firm foundation upon which all other relationships grow. The idea is that the success of all relationships is dependent upon the success of the first one, namely, of the bond between the infant and his mother or primary caregiver (Brodie, 2008).
Child rearing practices altered as a result of the economic shift as well as intellectual shift. Child rearing had shifted from breaking the will of children by means of corporal punishment to mending behavior through psychology and emotional discipline. Different theories and methods of child rearing were disseminated through advice books. This was directed particularly at immigrant families as a way to assimilate them into the American society. Children fiction books became another method implemented to conform immigrant families. Scholars had proposed other theories describing children as not being with original sin but rather, a blank slate or born innocent.
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 theory is the idea that a child needs to form a close relationship with at least one primary caregiver. The theory proved that attachment is necessary to ensure successful social and emotional development in an infant. It is critical for this to occur in the child’s early infant years. However, failed to prove that this nurturing can only be given by a mother (Birns, 1999, p. 13). Many aspects of this theory grew out of psychoanalyst, John Bowlby’s research. There are several other factors that needed to be taken into account before the social worker reached a conclusion; such as issues surrounding poverty, social class and temperament. These factors, as well as an explanation of insecure attachment will be further explored in this paper.
Amy Chua, who is a professor at the Yale Law School in the United States of America, wrote the interesting article ‘Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior’. The article evolves around the many concerns that Amy Chua has with the western way of raising children. According to Amy Chua, western parents should do as she herself, and most other Chinese parents do, and raise their kids with strict rules and tough consequences if the children were to defy these rules. Amy Chua succeeded in raising two successful kids herself; in the article, she tells us how she did it.
“Babies”. Is a documentary made by the Thomas Balmés. It offers a window on the lives of four infants in four completely different cultures. This is not a usual kind of documentary; there are no narration, no subtitles and actual dialogue was very minimal. The film explores childhood rituals, enculturation, socialization and parenthood. I will try to explore each of these themes and try to make the case that behaviors, values and fears are learned not something congenital. It has, in my opinion, comparative perspectives and different methods in rearing children in different societies. It achieves this by cutting the scenes in certain ways to show the differences between these different children. For example, in one part of the film, both Bayarjargal (the Mongolian child) and Mari (the Japanese child) were playing with their pet cats and then the two scenes were edited to a shot of Ponijo (the Namibian child) looking interested in flies. The four children developed in somewhat similar ways. However, there are differences in their behaviors due to the enculturation by seeing their parents or siblings who were doing what they thought to be the norms and the obvious landscape in which they are brought up. Two of the kids were born in rural areas (Namibia and Mongolia) and two were born in urban areas (the United States and Japan). The mothers of these infants were interviewed and chosen to be in the film
Mothers are the primary caretakers of the children. The fathers have had minimal care taking responsibilities. Many women, if they had a career before hand, have to give it up to stay at home with the child. Although, many fathers where the wives must work become important in the process of care taking because their role must increase to their children. Studies of human fathers and their infants confirm that many fathers can act sensitively with their infant (according to Parke & Sawin, 1980) and their infants form attachments to both their mothers and fathers at roughly the same age (according to Lamb, 1977).