What is the attachment between mother and baby?
"We seem to be living in the 'Age of Attachment,'" writes psychologist Jean Mercer, author of Understanding Attachment: Parenting, Child Care, and Emotional Development. Mercer is surprised how often the term "attachment" comes up in discussions about baby-and-parent bonding. Yet surprisingly few people really understand this critical concept, and how it changes over time. "It is the development of attachment that makes a baby a real human being and prepares him or her to take his or her rightful place among other humans," says Mercer. "My experience as a daughter, a mother, and a grandmother is that once understood, the idea of attachment is of enormous help in understanding family love and relationships." Show The editors of Scholastic's Parent & Child talked to Mercer about the importance of attachment in the early years of life, and to find out how the transformation from infant to adult happens and what you can do as a parent to make your relationship grow stronger. Parent & Child: Parents see and hear the word "attachment" a lot — but what does it really mean? P&C: What happens at 6 months? A bit later, at about the 7- to 9-month mark, you see signs of the first stage of attachment behavior, when separation anxiety kicks in. The very reason a baby feels separation or stranger anxiety is because he's developed an attachment to his primary caregiver. So much so, that when that person is out of sight, the baby feels the pain of separation. From this point on, attachment grows in stages, and at each stage the child gains a greater understanding of how humans interact and what trust is. P&C: When is the next big stage? P&C: You've noted that a 2 year old's tantrums may signal another stage of
attachment. Can you explain this? P&C: There seems to be a pattern regarding attachment — these stages are triggered by separation from you. P&C: Parents sometimes worry that a child in day care could have trouble with attachment. Should they? P&C: Do adoptive parents face any special challenges? P&C: What can disrupt attachment? P&C: What can happen in the case of a child who, for whatever reason, has not been able to form a secure attachment? What is the bond between mother and baby?Bonding is the intense attachment that develops between parents and their baby. It makes parents want to shower their baby with love and affection and to protect and care for their little one.
What is it called when a baby is attached to mom?Attachment is the deep emotional bond between a baby and the person who provides most of their care.
What is attachment between parent and child?The parent-child attachment is deemed as a kind of deep, enduring, intimate, and stable emotional connection that forms in the process of interaction between individuals and their parents (Ramsdal et al., 2015), which is also known as “parental attachment.” Early parent-child attachment is an important symbol of ...
Why are babies so attached to their mom?Attachment is the first way that babies learn to organize their feelings and their actions, by looking to the person who provides them with care and comfort. Attachment is essential to long-term emotional health.
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