Do you know the meaning of infant attachment? Infant attachment is the deep relational bond that an infant develops with its primary caregiver, often the mother. It is a bond that ties them together, endures over time, and leads the child to experience in the caregiver’s company happiness, joy, protection, and comfort. When this person is missing the baby feels pain. Key elements of the relationship are calming, relaxing and giving enjoyment. The philosophy of attachment states that a reliable primary caregiver is important for the successful growth of an infant.
Now, what are attachment behaviours? Attachment behaviours may draw the attention of the caregiver, such as cooing, laughing and reaching out in a meaningful way. Yet bonding habits also include agitation actions such as screaming and fretting, which also can push the caregiver back to soothe the infant and end the behaviour. Attachment habits may require more overt acts in the toddler years, such as chasing, trailing, grasping and other coping tactics that will add closeness to the attachment person.
Next, what are attachment practices? Attachment practices are those strategies that parents use in listening to their children’s attachment patterns to establish a meaningful and enduring bond with their children. Developing this relational connection or relationship requires parents offering affection, caring, trust, protection and respect for their children as well as listening sensitively to their needs.
The purpose of this assignment is to test students ‘ comprehension of attachment and their ability to identify the different forms of attachment through observing.
The theory of attachment began in the early 1950s with John Bowlby, a child psychiatrist, and Mary Ainsworth, a psychologist who also became interested in the reactions of young children to the deprivation felt. We continued to explore communication and bonding domains. Their theory was developed and applied by scholars around the world over the next 60 years. Attachment theory is a psychological, evolutionary, and ethological philosophy about human relations. Attachment needn’t be reciprocal. One person may have an unshared attachment to an individual. Attachment is characterized by similar behaviours in infants, such as, when distressed or disturbed, finding closeness to the attachment figure (Bowlby, 1969).
Studies of Bowlby’s childhood growth and ‘temperament’ have brought him to the belief that a close commitment to a caregiver offers a necessary sense of stability and support. Bowlby speculated that the intense actions children indulge in is biological responses to prevent isolation from a parent or to bond with a physically separating parent— such as weeping, yelling, and grasping. Bowlby thought these habits may have been strengthened by natural selection and improved the likelihood of survival for the boy.
According to Mary Ainsworth, there are different levels of attachments:
- Anxious-avoidant attachment: Forms of anxious-avoidant attachments (also known as the ‘fearful type’) blend the worst of all worlds. Not only are the anxious-avoidants fearful of friendship and engagement, but they still physically mistrust and lash out at anyone who wants to get close to them. Anxiety-evitators often spend a great deal of their time isolated and depressed, or in violent or unhealthy relations. Infants in the third group experienced no stress or moderate stress on separation from the parents and either missed the parents after reunification or deliberately avoided the parents (Fraley, 2010).
- Secure Attachment: These children were depressed at separation, but found consolation and became happy when the parents came back. Note these kids feel comfortable and willing to depend on their adult carers. The infant may be distressed when the adult leaves however he or she is confident the parent or caregiver will come back. If afraid, the children who are firmly attached will seek support from carers. These kids know their parent or caregiver will offer support and reassurance, and in times of need they feel confident watching out for them.
- Anxious-resistant attachment: A lower number of the children exhibited higher levels of anxiety and, after reuniting with the parents, all tended to seek consolation and continue to ‘punish’ the parents for leaving.
- Ambivalent attachment: Children with ambivalent relationships typically get very depressed when a parent leaves. This form of connection is considered fairly rare, impacting an average 7 per cent to 15 per cent of U.S. youth. Ambivalent attachment can result from unavailability of the parents. These kids can’t depend on their mother (or caregiver) being there when the kid is in need.
- Avoidant attachment: Kids with an evasive relationship prefer to avoid getting parents or carers. Those kids can show no distinction between a caregiver and a total stranger when given a option. Research has suggested that this style of attachment could be a result of caregivers abusive or neglectful. Children who are disciplined for having to rely on a caregiver can continue to stop finding potential support.
- Disorganized attachment: Kids with an evasive relationship prefer to avoid getting parents or carers. Those kids can show no distinction between a caregiver and a total stranger when given a option. Research has suggested that this style of attachment could be a result of caregivers abusive or neglectful. Children who are disciplined for having to rely on a caregiver can continue to stop finding potential support.
What causes avoidant attachment? Sometimes, when faced with the emotional needs of a infant, parents may feel exhausted or depressed and shut themselves off emotionally. They may totally disregard the emotional needs or attachment needs of their infant. When they try an affection or warmth, they may separate themselves from the infant. Such parents may be extremely cruel or insensitive when their child encounters a time of greater need, such as when they are afraid, sick or injured. Some actions that may promote an avoiding relationship in babies and children include a parent or caregiver who regularly fails to recognize their child’s cries or other signs of pain or anxiety, deliberately suppresses their child’s emotional displays by asking them to stop crying, growing up or toughening up, becomes furious or forcibly removed from a infant as they exhibit signs of anxiety or discomfort, shames the infant for emotional actions and has low perceptions of their child’s mental and functional freedom.
What causes anxious or ambivalent attachment? Kids whose mothers are out of sync with their infants ‘ physical and emotional produce children that develop nervous forms of attachment. These children’s moms are contradictory with how they react and react to their babies ‘ needs. When she pays careful attention to her infant, the mother can show moments, but instead turn around and neglect their efforts to get the mother to engage with her. There’s a constant scenario of ‘come here,’ ‘go ahead’ offered by the mother to the boy. The infant, for example, wakes up from her sleep, and begs to be picked up. Her mother holds her up and soothes her but the infant lies back in her crib shortly afterwards.
The baby wishes she needs more time with mum, and once again cries, but this time her voice goes unheard. Mom is nearby but she avoids her child’s requests for contact. This baby quickly discovers that some of the time the mother is involved in her, but she can’t count on mom to respond to her contact needs. The baby is left unaware on how its vital nutritional and health needs are being fulfilled.
What causes disorganized attachment? Disorganized attachment arises from the persistent inability of a parent to react properly to the discomfort of their child, or from an incoherent reaction by a parent to the feelings of anxiety or discomfort of their child. For example, being left with a new babysitter or unknown caregiver may upset a infant. Rather of calming the child or offering help, the adult may scream at the child or try to use coercion or threats in an effort to get them to stop crying. Alternatively, the parent can be encouraging in communicating, but resist physical touch or direct communication. Disorganized attachment is also a product of parental practices between generations. This means parents react to their kids in the same toxic manner their own parents reacted when they were young.
As a conclusion, children have a simple, developed need for connection to other persons who can provide protection as well as provide food, water, clothes and shelter for physical needs. Children may and do develop multiple relationships for those individuals who have continuing treatment for them. Safe relationships are based on carer attitudes that are receptive, socially responsive and attuned, and are consistent with good developmental outcomes. Eventually, children create abstract images of what it means to be in a relationship with another based on their interactions with people who matter about them.
Assessment includes studying and tracking the progress of infants, their social styles and interactions and how they communicate with their surrounding environment. Assessment aim is to gather accurate information about children and make better decisions that support their education and development. It is usually better to use a variety of appraisal methods to achieve a deeper view of the infant. Observational storytelling strategies, also called oral documents, can contribute to a vast collection of individual children’s developmental details that can be used in a number of ways. An anecdotal report is a comprehensive concise account collected after the occurrence of a specific event or experience. Anecdotal documents educate teachers as they prepare instructional events, provide families with information and offer guidance into recognizing future developmental delays.
Shirley Ng, aged 5 years old, where her mother is a housewife and her father is a doctor. She has a younger brother, aged 3 years old. She is a good sister that takes care of her brother all time. Her hobby is reading and cooking. She likes to help her mother at home. She is friendly to her friends and always shares good things with her friends.
Shirley is playing cooking toys with her friend. Shirley takes the cooking toys from the basket and cut the toy carrots and vegetables using a toy knife. Then she filled up the pot with the toy carrots and vegetables. Her friend, Lily came to help her to put the pot to the toy stove and pretended to cook it. Shirley told Lily that she is preparing some chocolate cakes as a dessert. They went to check whether the food is ready and serve them in a bowl. They put the bowl and the plate of cakes on the table. They then invite their friends to come over to eat the food together. They giggle and pretend to eat the food.
Shirley has developed a good friendship with her friends and interacts together well. This activity showed that they enjoy dramatic pretend play of an activity they probably have both observed at home when their mothers’ are preparing food in the kitchen. Shirley’s fine motor skills were evident in the way she manipulate cut the toy carrots and vegetables and then put them into the pot.
