Theories of Attachment: The Importance of Bonding with Infants and Toddlers

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Recommended: the significance of attachment on children’s development

To infants, the world is a brand new experience full of new sights and sounds, and their parents are their first teacher who educates them about the new environment around them. In addition, they learn about their surroundings through touch which is an important part of the way infants observe this strange new world. Babies and toddlers learn about the way relationships are formed through becoming attached to their parents and bonding with them. Infants and toddlers love hugs, kisses, gentle caresses from their mom and dad as well as being sung and read to at night. Looking at parents bond with their children is a beautiful display of love and affection between parent and child. Seeing their infant smile back at them and be happy when their parents walk into the room are signs of healthy attachment. In order for infants to feel safe and secure they need to form a loving bond between their parents and caregivers. Healthy signs of attachment are eye contact with parents, feeling secure when parents leave the room, feeling close to their parents, the infant or toddler is friendly, and is not afraid to explore their world without their parents.

The first components of healthy attachment for children and toddlers are their ability to make eye contact with their parents and feeling secure when their parents leave the room. According to an article on Kidshealth.com it states that, “Eye-to-eye contact provides meaningful communication at close range” (Bonding with Your Baby, 2011). The first face an infant sees is their mother’s face. As a result, babies take cues from their mothers and fathers facial expressions and feel safe when they are in their parent’s arms. According to an article in the Encyclopedia of Children’s Health it ...

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...en they have loving parents who will protect them from the dangers in the world.

Works Cited:

Brotherson, S. (2006). Keys to building attachment with young children. Retrieved from http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/yf/famsci/fs631w.htm

n/a, . (2011). Bonding with your baby. Retrieved from http://kidshealth.org/parent/pregnancy_newborn/communicating/bonding.html#

n/a, . (2011). Attachment between infant and caregiver . Encyclopedia of children's health. Retrieved July 31, 2011, from http://www.healthofchildren.com/A/Attachment-Between-Infant-and-Caregiver.html

n/a, . (2011). Different types of parent-child relationships. Retrieved from http://www.athealth.com/consumer/disorders/attachment.html

Perry, D. (2011). Attachment: the first core strength . Retrieved from http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional/bruceperry/attachment.htm

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