Attachment
Attachment is a biologically based (innate) connection children develop towards their parent or caregiver on whom they rely to help them feel safe, cared for, and protected.
Attachment is important. Early attachment experiences have an impact on a child’s later social, emotional, behavior, and cognitive development by influencing: brain development, development of self-regulation, how the child responds to experiences, development of resiliency skills, and expectations and behaviour in relationships throughout life.
Attachment is a biologically based (innate) connection children develop towards their parent or caregiver on whom they rely to help them feel safe, cared for, and protected.
The process of attachment begins at birth. Some people believe it starts before birth. By six months, children who become distressed have begun to form expectations of how their parents will respond. By the end of their first year, children have a clear attachment to one or more of the people who provide regular care. Children can form attachments later in life.
Children become attached to people who take care of them regularly. This can extend towards people outside of the immediate family, such as daycare providers.
Early attachment experiences have an impact on a child’s later social, emotional, and cognitive development by influencing:
Beginning in the first year of life, children naturally show they need care and protection through attachment behaviours, including crying, clinging, following, trying to be physically close, focusing their attention on the caregiver, cooing, and smiling.
Parents need to be physically and emotionally available to help their children feel safe, cared for, and protected. Parents also need help regulating their own feelings, physical states, and behaviours.
Secure attachment is the ideal form of attachment. Secure attachment can happen when a child is able to rely on their caregiver(s) for comfort and protection.
Caregivers of children with secure attachment:
A securely attached child:
Secure attachment is a protective factor that contributes to resilience and psychological health through neural development, emotion regulation, and feelings of competence and self-efficacy. Secure attachment is related to fewer behaviour problems, higher social competence and competence in general (e.g., problem-solving), as well as more empathy and better boundaries. Early secure attachment provides children with the ability to deal well with, or recover from, difficult experiences later in life.
Children with an insecure attachment are at risk of developing behaviour problems and potentially, mental health problems. They are more likely to have problems such as: