Man’s Best Friend
“To understand the process of attachment formation in young children has been a focal point in child development research for decades. However, young children’s attachments are not only with human beings; they also form bonds with companion animals, particularly dogs.” (Jalongo, 2015).
When reading this quote, my first response was recalling the time I adopted my first newborn puppy. I was about 6 years old at the time we first visited the adoption center. I remember begging my parents for a dog at least once a day for a about a month or two, so when we went to the adoption center, I was brimming with happiness. As I looked into the square space that the puppies were kept in, I instantly fell in love with one of the pups there. He was a newborn pug who was only a week old. After we got all the legal paperwork taken care of, I was able to carry my newborn pug to my home. In Mary Jalongo’s research, she mentions that “A child may treat a dog as if it were a baby or younger child, such as when they assume the role of the dog’s teacher and teach it a command or trick” (Jalongo, 2015). I spent many days and night with him and, to my intense joy, I realized he would follow me around a lot and rely on me for a lot of things. Throughout the entire first year I owned Taco (the name I gave
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Taco’s death affected my life at the time to where I couldn’t complete daily tasks because I was feeling distraught. It never crossed my mind to research about other owners who have lost their dog and how they feel. I came across a study that investigated Grief over the loss of a pet to clarify the usual course of symptoms experienced, gender differences in the experience, and the role of attachment to the pet. The sample included 174 adults who had lost a pet dog or cat to death. Participants were administered a modified CENSHARE Pet Attachment Survey (Holcomb, Williams, & Richards, 1985). The
The attachment process plays a crucial role in a child’s development and their future impact on society According to Dr Suzanne Zeedyk. Children can’t feel relaxed and safe with the adults & children in the nursery until they get to know them. If there’s a lack of affection towards a child they may be reluctant to take advantage of all the learning opportunities because of their anxiety. We now know that relationships literally shape the neural connections in young children’s brains. This means everything that happens or doesn’t happen for the child will leaves a physiological trace in their growing brain. According to Dr Suzanne
Fox (1995) poses that it is possible that early childhood attachment does not influence adults’ minds relative to attachment. He also is hesitant to agree that parental sensitivity is a valuable aspect that is potentially “transmitted” to offspring.
The results of the study claimed that the attachments developed over time and goes through four stages. From birth to six weeks it’s the Pre-attachment or Indiscriminate phase, the infants respond to all stimuli in the same ways and so does not have certain attachments or preferences about who they were with, towards the end of the stage the child begins to show a preference for social stimuli (e.g. smiling). Between six weeks to six months it’s the Discriminating phase, they become extremely sociable with anybody, cl...
Relationships are the building block for personality and are significant in children’s ability to grow into substantial individuals who can thrive in an often harsh world. Constructing lasting and fulfilling relationships is an integral part to development as the interpersonal bonds forged are not only highly sought after but also set the ground work for all upcoming expressive interactions. Relationships and attachment go hand in hand as attachment is the strong and lasting linkage established between a child and his or her caregiver. Moreover, attachment significantly influences a large capacity of ones make up as it these first relationships that teaches morals, builds self-esteem, and develops a support system. The pioneers of Attachment Theory realized early on that human beings are not solely influenced by drives but that the earliest bonds formed by children with their caregivers greatly impact their ability to forge lasting relationships later in life. John Bowlby was first to introduce this theory to the masses in the 1950’s, and later Mary Ainsworth conducted further research to expand on Bowlby’s theory which proclaims that attachment is a “lasting psychological connectedness between human beings” (Bowlby, 1969, p. 194). The attachment bond theory by both Bowlby and Ainsworth focuses on the significance of the relationship between babies and their caretakers which research has suggested is accountable for influencing impending interactions, firming or injuring our capabilities to concentrate, being aware of our emotional states, self-soothing capabilities, and the capacity to be resilient in the face of hardship. Additionally, this research has provided a framework for assisting in describing these att...
A clear understanding on attachment that I was able to obtain while reading The Boy Who was raised as a Dog was very similar to what I had obtained from my class textbook Development Through Life: A Psychosocial Approach. According to Newman & Newman (2012), “attachment is the process through which people develop specific, positive emotional bonds with others”. Newman & Newman (2012) mentioned an infant’s attachment is expressed through preferential responsiveness to a few familiar figures. As an infant it is very vital to have a secure attachment with one’s caregiver not just for the child’s brain to develop the correct way, but for the growth of relationships later in the child’s life. Newman and Newman (2012) also point out that there is
The attachment style that a child endures with their mother initially begins before the child is even born. In the mother’s womb, the infant becomes aware of their mother and father’s voices, where they begin to develop a bond with them and feel nurtured and comforted by the things they hear their parents sing and speak to them. According to Bowlby, the development of attachment takes place in four different phases and are reinforced as they grow older from the Preattachment (birth to age 6 weeks), attachment-in-the-making (age 6 weeks to 8 months), clear cut attachment (between 8 months to 1 ½ years of age) and the reciprocal relationship (from 1 ½ or 2 and on). As the child grows older, then begin to understand their parent’s feelings and motives and are able to organize their efforts and reciprocate the same i...
According to (Pittman, Keiley, & Kerpelman, 2011), Bowlby theorized that it is the interactions between people that form connections and develop attachments. There are four different types of attachments; secure, avoidant, and anxious ambivalent. When we look at this theory applied to children we see that a secure attachment is when children are most comfortable when their parents are around and are easy to soothe by the parents. Insecure or avoidant attachment is when the child doesn’t prefer to be near the parents and could care less if the parents are absent. This happened when the parents failed to meet their child’s needs, despite a child expressing their needs. Anxious ambivalent attachment is when the child won’t leave their parents side, even if it is to explore their surroundings, is distraught if the parents leave, and mistrusting if the parents try to comfort after leaving (Arnett, & Maynard,
In the story of “Half Husky” the protagonist Vanessa is shown to be more related to many school students, including my friend James,that we all have numerous responsibilities, but we are often distracted, fail to notice or carry out our responsibilities. As we kids grow older and older we tend to notice more responsibilities placed upon us whether we choose to take on these responsibility or they are circumstantial. This is explained by the relationship that Vanessa has with her pet dog Nanuk. In the story Vanessa begged her grandfather to accept the dog into the family, and in return she said that she would take the duty of taking care of the husky. This situation is reminiscent to the time where my friend James told a story of his own pet
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
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)
The character in “A Blizzard under Blue Sky,” by author Pam Houston is clinically depressed, and desires to go winter camping it hopes to gain some relief from her daily stresses. The character views nature as something that is good for a person, and is somewhat rejuvenating. “ One of the things I love most about the natural world is the way it gives you what’s good for you even if you don’t know it at the time”(284). The character in “To Build a Fire” by author Jack London, is somewhat numb as far as emotions are concerned. “Fifty degrees below zero meant eighty-odd degrees of frost. Such fact impressed him as being cold and uncomfortable, and that was all” (295). His only hope and desire, is to get back to camp, where the “boys” are.
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...
Restate Thesis Statement: Dogs don’t only give owners happiness; they also affect their owners positively.
As a kid, I fell in love with the idea of getting a puppy for Christmas. Wrapped in a small box with a bow on top sitting under the tree just like the movies and tv shows I had seen. I can remember making a Christmas list of all the things I wanted that year, and every year the same thing that I wanted had said “puppy” with it underlined so that my mother knew which was my favorite on the list. Every year no surprise, I didn’t find a dog. I never understood why I never received one. When the kids at school talked about the few dogs they had at home made me so jealous, but I hoped that one day it would be me to have my own best friend at home.
“Ainsworth and Witting (1969) devised the strange situation to be able to test the nature of attachment systematically” Cardwell, M. et.al (2000). They found three attachment types, secure attachment, insecure-avoidant and insecure –resistant. They found that the different attachments had different effects on a child’s behaviour. Bowlby’s theory talks about having a secure base which allows a child to explore its environment.... ...