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Significance of attachment on childrens development
Significance of attachment on childrens development
Significance of attachment on childrens development
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In our study, we noticed that early strong and mutually satisfying relationship between infants and caregivers influence their relationship in childhood period. When infants have built strong ties with their caregivers, they feel more comfortable to express their needs and interests to them in childhood. However, when they begin to have more social support, their environment is changed and their protective factors increase. Therefore, social supports are essential to struggle with risk factors as they reduce threatening events, influence the coping strategies of parents, and providing affecting support (Osopsky & Thompson,
There are many different relationships that children develop as they grow, babies know that they cry to get attention from their parent for food or just a cuddle this is the beginning of learning to build relationships. Every child and family are different in how they believe relationships should be made and who children are allowed to talk to or be around so everyone is different when it comes to who they trust or get along with. Relationships children and young people may have are: parental, carer, sibling, family, friendship, emotional, acquaintance and professional. Parental/carer is the relationship between the child and the person who is their main carer(s).
The article “The Character of Friendship” by Laurence Thomas talks about the difference between parental friendship, companion friendship and their peaks and valleys. Parental friendship is beautiful bond between the child and parent that is essential for the infant's survival and development. This attachment is strengthened by mutually satisfying interaction between the parents and the child throughout the first months of life. With time, most children have formed an attachment relationship, usually with the primary caretaker. Progressively, children begin to expect that their parent will care for them when they cry. Progressively, parents respond to and even anticipate their children’s needs. This creates the base for a developing relationship.
“Although experience may affect human brain structure and function throughout the entire life span, evidence…..suggests that early experience may be particularly critical” (Rao et al., 2010). During the childhood years, adequate nurturance by parents has a large impact on optimal biological and psychological development. This includes neurological, social, emotional, and cognitive growth. Rao et al. (2010) broadly define nurturance as including “warmth, affection, and acceptance” (p. 1145). Like nurturance, many researchers have looked at the importance of similar issues such as attention, attachment, and bonding. Conversely, issues such as stressful environments and unstable relationships have been shown to have negative consequences on childhood development. The importance of this early childhood nurturance is evident in the story of Michel Oher as described in the movie The Blind Side. Due to his neglectful upbringing, Michael has many academic deficits including language problems as well as having limited social and stress management skills. However, when taken in by the Tuohy family Michael begins to thrive and flourish due to the encouraging attention he receives and the positive environment in which he now lives. Although Michael’s case is atypical, not every impoverished child gets a second chance, it does illustrate the effects that improper, and later adequate, nurturance has on a child and his or her development.
The first family that I interviewed fell into the Parenting Stage II: The Nurturing Stage. The couple, who are both 22-years of age, have been together for three years. They have been living together for about one year and are not married. The couple lives with the father's family: his mother and father. They are all from a Hispanic background. The father works as a computer technician and the mother is a supervisor at a bakery. There annual income is about $45,000. The couple recently had their first child together. They are the parents of a 5-week-old infant. My relationship to the couple is friendship, I used to work with the mother at the bakery but we are not that close of friends. This family has 3 major concepts that I found connected to parent-child relations:
...no doubt that infants should get affectionate care from their parents. However, waiting for them ahead is the complex socialization and interaction between other social factors, which will greatly influence their development. This development also depends on which social class the children belong to. Because it is the continuity of events that shapes one’s perception, experiences that correspond to one’s social class, as well as how they are interpreted, will directly affect later development (Kagan, 1998, p.128). Considering the amount of time and various events that children will be going through for their lifetime, events in the first two years are rather insufficient to determine the whole course of later development.
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).
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.
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...
A substantial amount of research considers how children develop and form attachments from a few months old, as this period can have huge implications later in their life. Children’s experience of attachment will provide them with a schema about how attachments form so it’s critical they have a positive childhood and form close bonds, especially with a primary caregiver. This essay will attempt to assess the impact early daycare has on children’s ability to form attachments and to what extent it affects a child’s development.
There is plenty of evidence to suggest that if a person’s relationships are warm and consistent, then this will have a positive impact on their emotional wellbeing, and perhaps on their physical health as well. It is unsurprising to find relationships closely associated with positive wellbeing in childhood because similar findings have been identified in adulthood where contact with friends and family are a key predictor of happiness (Holder and Coleman, 2009). Relationship can be influenced by children’s relationship with parents and care givers. Relationships between children, parents or care-givers are a significant feature of present and future wellbeing. It is widely agreed that children benefit from protective, nurturing and responsive relationships. In addition to promoting secure attachment patterns, parents and caregivers provide material support, affection, protection, discipline
Social support refers to the informative, instrumental or emotional care offered to an individual by close family members, relatives or friends to boost coping mechanisms during early adulthood such as self-esteem and measures of stress management. Social support is imperative in determining the well-being of all people for it shapes the physical health and the mental health of each (Santrock 8). Various studies demonstrate that social support plays a crucial role in coping mechanisms during early childhood. Social support is a fundamental aspect of maintaining a healthy psychological status. On the other hand, a good social support has many
There are many different aspects of environment that can affect the development of children. One major environmental impact that influences the development of a child is the neighborhood they are raised in. Within the neighborhood there are several other aspect of influence. Where a child is raised can affect their behavior, attitudes, emotions, personality, values, health, and so much more. This can be seen in their personal lives at home to their social lives around others in classrooms. The affects of a child’s development due to their environment can be seen in both a positive and negative aspect. The neighborhood that a child is raised in can be very critical in their development. It may have a significant effect on what he or she becomes in the future.
Pre and or post birth exposure to negative events render young children in foster care defenseless, especially in times of adversity. Their ability to cope is weakened making support imperative to the creation of healthier mental health outcomes (CECAD, 2000). Parents and caregivers are the core support for younger children who have not yet advanced to the school aged level where peer and teacher relationships become a part of their support system. Support is categorized in terms of instrumental, informational, and emotional (J. Springett, personal communication, October 4, 2013). In my opinion, from an instrumental point of view, helping an infant in the ability to hold an object is an example of a positive support. Reading a story to a five year old with embedded lessons on caring and sharing demonstrate informational support. Emotional support for young children require parents being consistently present in their lives and authentically showing affection such as with attention and play. Focus will be on this type of support to highlight the importance of relationships within early child development and its links to mental health.
The first stage in the development of human behavior is trust versus mistrust which occurs from infancy to one year and a half. In this stage the infant is oblivious to the new world that he has entered, which results in the infant becoming dependent on his guardian for safety and care (McLeod, 2008). If the infant is constantly presented with care and stability, then he will develop the ability to trust in future relationships (Adler, 2008). If the infant develops successfully, then when a problem arises, he will solve this problem with the help of others. However, if this infant lacks this ability then this he will develop fear. This will lead to the infant mistrusting others, which res...