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Causes for infants to develop separation anxiety essay
Psychological development in early childhood
Separation anxiety among children
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Big changes happen at the beginning of every school year. Some move up grade, while some, attend school for the very first time. Although some anxiety feelings are natural part of attending school, every child’s response to these feelings is different. Separation anxiety occurs in a wide variety of reactions towards a stranger, or when the child is separated from their parents. Numerous children may experience fear, sadness, rage, shyness and anxiety when they are separated from their parents. Although this is a common issue in children, not addressing it correctly, and accommodating to the child’s needs, may impact its ability to learn and develop. After researching this topic, I came across with a statement from Balaban; “Infants’ and toddlers’ trusting attachments to their teachers are critical in helping them cope with the stress of separation” (Balaban, 2006). The purpose of this assignment is to effectible providing appropriate guidance to a child facing “Separation Anxiety.” …show more content…
old that just started attending preschool. Two contributing factors that might influence Mia’s separation anxiety were her lack of social interaction with other kids, and her family having a difficult time trusting teachers and making the drop off transition smoothly. Mia is an only child, first grandchild, and there are no children her age that live on her street. According to her mother, her lack of social skills is one of the main reasons for her to attend school. The mother also stated that, “She didn’t know who was going to cry more, Mia, or herself.” As a result, Mia was screaming and crying, her body was shaking, and was having difficulty controlling her breathing. Her mother was crying as well, she would not put Mia down; she was on the verge of walking out of the school with her child, and forgetting all about preschool. She felt guilty for putting her daughter through all the pain and agony she was
From birth to about six months old, an infant doesnÂ’t seem to mind staying with an unfamiliar person (Brazelton, 1992), although the infant is able to distinguish his mother from other people (Slater, et al, 1998). As the infant gets a little older, at about eight to ten months, he/she begins to cry when his caregiver is not his mother or father; and again between eighteen and twenty-four months, when the infant finds out he/she has some control over what happens (Schuster, 1980). Separation anxiety could, and often does, make parents feel guilty for leaving their child and might make them wonder if they are causing their child undue stress.
Schaffer and Emerson (1964) challenged some of Bowlby’s claims which believed that babies have some biological need to attach to their mothers, or at least to a permanent carer. Schaffer and Emerson carried out an ethological study in Scotland which consisted of 60 babies from a working-class sector of Glasgow during the first eighteen months of their lives. They interviewed the mothers every 4 weeks and asked them several questions related to their child’s reaction when faced with a separation distress, e.g. who they smile at, who they respond to, who affects the child most when they leave and so on. Schaffer and Emerson used the results of their interviews to measure separation anxiety. They also observed how the children responded to the presence of the researchers noting how close they could get to the child before causing sings of distress (when they begin to look for their mothers, whimpering). They used these findings to measure stranger anxiety. The research showed as well that many of the children were actually attached to several people. According to Schaffer and Emerson this occurs when there is more than one person in the child’s life who took an interest in them and the infants became attached to them.
The concept of infant-mother attachment is as important to the child as the birth itself. The effect this relationship has on a child shall affect that child for its entire life. A secure attachment to the mother or a primary caregiver is imperative for a child’s development. Ainsworth’s study shows that a mother is responsive to her infant’s behavioral cues which will develop into a strong infant-mother attachment. This will result in a child who can easily, without stress, be separated from his mother and without any anxiety. Of course the study shows a child with a weak infant-mother relationship will lead to mistrust, anxiety, and will never really be that close with the mother. Without the right help, this child may harbor these ill feelings for life.
The first topic that came up in the interview relates to idea of attachment theory. Attachment theory explains the human’s way of relating to a caregiver and receives an attachment figures relating to the parent, and children. In addition, the concept explains the confidence and ability for a child to free explore their environment with a place to seek support, protection, and comfort in times of distress (Levy, Ellison, Scott, and Bernecker, 2010, p. 193). Within attachment theory explains different types of attachment styles that children experience during early childhood. These attachment styles affect the relationships they continue to build in adulthood. The best attachment style happens when the parent is attuned to the child during his or her early childhood called secure attachment (Reyes, 2010, p. 174). In order for complete secure attachment, the child needs to feel safe, seen, and soothed. Any relationship that deviates from this model represents the anxious or insecure attachment. This means that parents or caregivers are inconsistently responsive to the children. Children who have these parents are usually confused and insecure. Some children experience a dismissive attachment where they
One important component of Attachment theory talks about fear children have in which children have less fear when they are aware of their primary caregivers’ availability and affection leads to a secure attachment to form between a caregiver and child. On the other hand, Erikson states that if the virtue of hope is not established then an infant will have a fear and start to mistrust and this will affect the development. This will have an effect on the confidence that the children develop during infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. A child can start to present separation anxiety and stranger anxiety at around 9 to 18 months a child had a stranger anxiety when they were young, that may affect their development based on the type of Patterns of attachment are secure, avoidant, and ambivalent. If a child had a secure attachment he will probably not have any form of trust issues and long-lasting relationships, a secure attachment will impact his self-esteem and have a good healthy relationship with his parents and friends and seek out social support from others because of him being able to function by himself in his adolescence and adulthood. On the other hand, if a child experienced avoidant or
In his original thesis, Bowlby (1969) never formalized an extension of his theory of attachment beyond childhood, but he clearly implied an extension should be sought. Perhaps his clearest statements regarding this extension involved his suggestions that people change to whom they are primarily attached as they age. He argued that in adolescents it was likely that peers played an increasingly important role in their attachment lives, and in adulthood, people would become primarily attached to a spouse or mate. Only in the last thirty years have scholars made a serious attempt to extend the ideas in attachment theory to adult relationships. One influential attempt came from Hazan and Shaver’s (1987) assertion that the attachment system is at least partially responsible for the adult romantic bond. Indeed multiple parallels have been drawn between the behavior in infant-caregiver interactions and adult romantic partner interactions. Zeifman and Hazan (1997) offer a fairly extensive account of the commonalities in adult romantic and infant-caregiver attachment. They note that cer...
Imagine a school bus driver and his dilemma when a student refuses to get off at her stop. The first grader is frozen to her seat in tears because she cannot see her mother from the bus window as usual. The mother is standing in the yard waiting for her child as always, but sees that the bus drives away. The frustrated driver returns the child back to the school. An aggravated principal meets with the parent over the incident shaming the child as she throws her hands up in the air saying, “I have kindergarteners who walk home alone!” The distraught parent intervenes with the principal’s inappropriate statements, but leaves having to acknowledge the reality of a new manifestation of an ongoing problem. She is diagnosed with Separation Anxiety Disorder at the age of seven.
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 primary diagnosis for Amanda Anderson is separation anxiety disorder (SAD) with a co-morbidity of school phobia. Separation anxiety disorder is commonly the precursor to school phobia, which is “one of the two most common anxiety disorders to occur during childhood, and is found in about 4% to 10% of all children” (Mash & Wolfe, 2010, p. 198). Amanda is a seven-year-old girl and her anxiety significantly affects her social life. Based on the case study, Amanda’s father informs the therapist that Amanda is extremely dependent on her mother and she is unenthusiastic when separated from her mother. Amanda was sitting on her mother’s lap when the therapist walked in the room to take Amanda in her office for an interview (Morgan, 1999, p. 1).
According to (YoungMinds, 2017) “Developing strategies, both as individual staff and as whole schools, increases the capacity of all children to cope with transitions, giving them both the positive experience of managing change and belief in their skills to overcome adverse circumstances.” Building positive relationships with adults is important as the child can explain their likes and dislikes of transition which can help a practitioner make it less challenging for the children by making them more aware of transitions and how to deal with them. Change of environment is a transition that occurs when a child who has spent his/her time at home with parents for their first four years and is now beginning nursery school which can be a stressful environment as there is multiple adults in a classroom but also over twenty children in the classroom, while children could have been used to being an only child at home to a much smaller surrounding with more children and less space. Emotions can occur positively during expected transitions as children can become very excited that they will be going to school to play, meet new friends and get to experience the world around them which they probably have not got to explore before. Children who go through unexpected transitions, such as; death can impact their mental health making them lose focus in school as their emotions are at a
“Social isolation is one of the most devastating things you can do to a human being…” (Wiseman). Social isolation is characterized as a state in which individuals or groups have little to none communication with others. It affects all types of people from children and adults to elders. Though there are varying degrees of social isolation, even the slightest amount has detrimental effects, as social interaction is essential in the development and maintenance of mental health and health overall.
Telling your child's hobbies, pets, as well as learning difficulties and strengths will provide for a more intimate school year (Spencer, 2001). One of the ways in which parents play a critical role in their children?s social development is by encouraging their interactions with other youth (Updegraff, 2001). If children are able to work in group settings, this will not only help the child get along with other students, but it will also lessen the amount of disruptions in class thereby making it easier for the teacher to teach (Barbour, 1997). Parents need to stress the importance of little things your child can do to smooth the teacher?s day and help himself learn, such as listening when classmates answer questions, writing his name on assignments, and keeping his desk and work area tidy (Spencer, 2001). Parents can help your children avoid interrupting. Teachers love enthusiasm but yelling out too often will cause unneeded disruptions. Explain the good times to speak, such as when the teacher is inviting questions and the not so good times, such as when the teacher is talking to another student or giving directions (Spencer, 2001). Practicing these classroom manners will help with less disruptions and a better teaching and learning environment. Parental involvement promotes emotional growth of a child. The attachment between a child and parent is a long-lasting, emotional, learned response. It is the attachment in a parent and child relationship that forms the basis for a child to trust or not to trust their environment (Gestwicki, 2000). This proper attachment is essential for a child to trust other adults, such as their teachers and also to trust other students and make friends.
Erikson believes that during this stage, children will seek approval from others by displaying skills that are valued by others. Additionally, he believes that if this initiative continues, the child will develop confidence in their ability to achieve their goals. During the first few stages of both theories, we see challenges in the development of the child and we also see challenges that a child might face during some, if not all, forms of attachment theory. For example, a parent ignoring the child and speaking to them in a negative manner during insecure-avoidant attachment can be challenging for a child and lead to insecurities and the feeling of not being loved and/or wanted.
Teachers have the unique opportunity to support students’ academic and social development at all levels of schooling (Baker et al., 2008; Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1998; McCormick, Cappella, O’Connor, & McClowry, in press). According to the attachment theory (Ainsworth, 1982; Bowlby, 1969), positive relationships enable learners to feel safe and secure in their learning environments which helps providing scaffolding for social and academic skills. Learners who have positive teacher-student relationships may have the feeling of closeness, warmth and positivity which will increase their learning ability (Hamre & Pianta 2001). Students will use this relationship as a secure base for them to explore the classroom both academically and socially. Positive relationship with an adult may protect against the negative outcomes associated with children who stay in poverty (Gallagher 2014). According to Murray and Malmgren (2005), low-income students who have strong teacher-student relationships have higher academic achievement than peers who do not have a positive relationship with a teacher. Therefore, if a learner is born in a rural area, he/she may still able to have great learning capacity if he/she has a positive relationships with everyone in the
Young children, up to age five or six, are the most confused and the most disoriented by their parents’ separation. They often fear they are going to be abandoned by their parents, which causes great anxiety. The loss of a parent is extremely sad to a child of this age because they feel that their needs are not going to be attended to as well as they had before, when their needs are not going to be attended to as well as they had before, when their family was together. Many of the children in this group are worried that they will be left without a family or their parents might have money troubles and they will be deprived of food and toys. These thoughts that children of this age have cause them to have feelings of guilt, being unloved and fear of being alone. Some children will be extremely sad and show signs of depression and even sleeplessness. They might feel rejected by the parent who left and think that it is all their fault, that they weren’t good children and their parents stopped loving them. They also sometimes have increased tantrums, or may cry more easily than usual. Children at this age may develop physical complaints, like headaches, or stomachaches due to this depressing situation and time they are going thr...