Early Daycare Essay

1500 Words3 Pages

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. Initially it was thought infants become attached to their mother due to her feeding them most. Infant’s get pleasure from being fed and associate this with the mother which results in an attachment being formed. This theory …show more content…

Bowlby said this is usually formed with the mother first, as she spends most time with them. When infants feels threatened they seek support off this primary attachment figure and use them as a secure base to explore from (Bowlby 1969). This idea is supported by Schaffer and Emerson (1964) who studied the main reason for attachment, through interviews and observations. They performed a longitudinal study of 60 babies at intervals of 1 month for 18 months where they observed the infants in their own home. They found over half the infants had a primary attachment with their mother by 18 months because the mothers responded to the infant’s needs best which promotes …show more content…

Through his research he successfully moved the focus from a behavioural point of view, which was the dominant approach at the time, to an evolutionary one. He showed tactile comfort was more important in forming attachments than simply feeding the infant, which was evident as every monkey preferred the cloth mother. Furthermore, additional research showed contact with others is necessary to develop. After keeping monkeys in isolation, it was clear they couldn’t function normally in society and they were bullied. This shows infants need contact with others which suggests daycare is beneficial as the infants get regular

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