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Positive attachment theory
It is very important that the parents/carers have a strong relationship with their children from when they are born, as this will help the child to do well in school and in life. The relationship that the parent/carer forms impact's the child’s future mental, physical, social, and emotional health. This is not because of the quality of care or parental love but on the nonverbal emotional communication between child and parent which is known as the attachment bond. It is always easiest to form this type of secure attachment bond with an infant, but it can also be formed at any time or at any age. There are many ways the parent/carer can use the nonverbal emotional communication for instance:
⦁ Eye contact – So when you look at child affectionately the child will pick up on the positive emotion and feel safe, relaxed, and happy. Having eye contact with the child helps to keep a flow of conversation between the parent and the child.
⦁ Facial expression – The parent/carer is able to express countless emotions without saying a word. When the parents/carers expression is calm while communicating with the child, the child will feel secure.
⦁ Tone of voice – When the child is too young to understand, from the tone of voice that the parents/carers use, the child can understand the difference. For example, if the tone is harsh, indifferent or calm.
⦁ Touch – The way the parent/carer touch their child, it shows the child their emotional state for example, whether they are attentive, calm, tender, relaxed, upset or unavailable.
⦁ Body language – The way the parents/carers sit, move, and carry themselves communicates a lot of information to the child.
The bond between a child and an adult who is special to them means a lot to a child's well-being, which we know as Attachment Theory. John Bowlby is a theorist who studied this concept. John Bowlby said that an early attachment to the mother was essential for a child's emotional security. According to John Bowlby, babies are totally dependent on the attentions of a close adult, who usually is the mother, for all their needs. Bowlby understanding was that the child had to make a clear attachment in order to ensure their protection. John Bowlby believed that patterns of making relationships are formed in the very early stages of a child's life, through their very first relationship with parent/carer. This is the reason it is important that children experience positive and loving early attachments, from which they can grow up being confident and independent.
Mary Ainsworth did her own observations of toddlers left in an unfamiliar room with a stranger, which she called the ‘Strange Situation' study. This involved a mother and child (12 to 18-month-old) entering an unfamiliar room together, then a stranger comes in and the mother leaves the room after a short time, the mother returns. Mary Ainsworth found that there were three main types of responses, first was the secure attachment which was related to those toddlers who were distressed when their mothers left the room but were happy soon as the mother came back in the room. The second was insecure/avoidant attachment was about children who showed little reaction to their mother leaving or coming back to the room. The third was the ambivalent attachment in which the toddlers showed discomfort when the mother left the room but continued to be upset when she returned. The children in these three categories showed clear strategies to deal with the parting from their mother. Mary Ainsworth created a fourth category, which was called disorganised attachment, for those toddlers who did not react the same way each time the mother left the room. Mary Ainsworth did all her observations with mothers at their home with their babies and toddlers, which showed that the development of attachment was greatly influenced by the responses of the mother to the child.
In today's time, both Bowlby's and Ainsworth's studies are said to be based on a conservative section of the community and focus only on the mother as the main caregiver. Western society has changed a lot since these studies were carried out, some people would think that these studies are outdated. Our community is made from many cultures, who have their own traditions and ways. What we learn from all the studies of attachment is that it is not important who is doing the caring, but it is about the amount, quality and consistency of care that is important.
Now let us have a look at the Key person approach, which is the forming of a special relationship between the key person, child and parents/carers in the nursery setting. The Key Person is normally the early year's practitioner, and the Key Person's role is to be responsible for a small group of children. The Key Person would help the child settle in the early years setting, the Key Person would meet with the child and their parent, at the nursery, to plan a suitable settling in plan. Also, they would try to and learn little facts about the child, such as who is in their family, what they like to do, how they like to be held. Again, it would be the Key Person who greets the child at the start of a session and supports the parent and the child as they say goodbye. As we know this moment has to be handled sensitively, which is naturally upsetting for the child who is attached to his/her parent. The Key Person can help to make the parting easier for the child and the parent through carefully thought out strategies. The Key Person would also be present at the end of the session so that they can talk about the child's day and provide a link between the setting and home. The Key Person is responsible for any physical needs, such as changing nappies, feeding or cuddling at nap time, and in this way, they begin to build a secure attachment with the child. The Key Person shares the child's abilities and celebrates achievements as the child develops in confidence and independence. The child is aware that the Key Person is the secure base from which the child can explore the setting, other children and other adults. It is the Key Person duty to consider the needs of the parent. The parents might need a reassurance that the special relationship that the child builds with a Key Person in the nursery will not replace attachments at home. The Key Person must know the boundaries while remaining professional and expressing warmth and understanding.
Although the Key Person is an important part of the child, we still need to have a plan in place to cover for sickness, holiday, or a job change. In these unavoidable situations, children's attachments are undoubtedly disturbed. We could avoid this situation by having a backup key person. This is why working as a team becomes even more important as the Key Person Approach is introduced.
To understand today's early attachment relationships, a lot has been taken from Bowlby and Ainsworth's original theories, but then again, the general principle remains the same. From this we learn that infants and children need to form secure attachments with a few adults who are special to them. We could use this to inform our practice, with using some guidance from the Key Person Approach, in our early years settings we can build positive and rewarding attachments with the children in our care.
The consequences for children if they are not forming attachments
From birth, we develop a close bond with our parents/carers. This attachment that we have helps us to learn and grow in a trusting environment, even at such a young age, we know our parents/carers will be there for us when we need them. But sometimes with some children, this bond is not formed. There is a number of reasons for this, but normally it is a situation where the caregiver is unable to provide the care and attention required to form a close attachment. This could be because the child may have been abused, neglected or separated from their parents for other reasons. Whatever the cause, the effect of not forming this bond can lead to attachment difficulties and at its worst, a condition called reactive attachment disorder. Usually, babies develop close bonds to their parent/carers by the age of nine months. By this time, they have learnt to rely on their parents/carers to give food, shelter and protection. This gives children the confidence to try new things, learn and cope with new situations. Babies between the age of six and nine months tend to go through a ‘clingy’ stage and don’t like being separated from their parents/carers. This is because of the close bond they’ve formed and because they connect their parents with safety. These strong and ‘secure’ attachments are not always made. In these cases, the security and safety factor associated with parents/carers is lost. This can make it difficult for the child to deal with new experiences and form relationships. Not forming this bond can lead to a set of behavioural and emotional difficulties which can affect development and lead to mental health problems later in life.
Attachment disorder usually develops by the age of five. Those at high risk of developing difficulties may include children who have suffered abuse, neglected, in the care system or who have been separated from caregivers. Saying this, any situation where parent/carer and child are unable to form a bond can lead to attachment difficulties.
Image result for pdd model attachment
Short-term effects
Robertson and Bowlby believe that short-term separation from an attachment figure leads to distress. Their findings show that the children react in three different ways which are:
•Protest: The child cries, screams and protests angrily when the parent leaves. They will try to cling on to the parent to stop them leaving. The child reacts in 3 different ways which are:
•Despair: The child’s protesting begins to stop and they appear to be calmer although still upset. The child refuses others’ attempts for comfort and often seems withdrawn and uninterested in anything.
•Detachment: If separation continues the child will start to engage with other people again. They will reject the caregiver on their return and show strong signs of anger.
Long-term effects
Children who do not develop secure attachment during early childhood are most often found to have social difficulties throughout the rest of their development and up into early adulthood. The long-term effects of not forming an attachment in childhood could be:
Misbehaviour /receive constant reprimands (school & home)
Constant dissociation or ‘tuning out’
Aggressive and/or manipulative behaviour towards others
Bullying or easily bullied
Defensive response to authority figures (teachers, parents, etc.)
Unwilling to share
Shunned by peers
Shallow later friendships
Less curious or more hesitant to learn
Difficulties with empathy
Distrust of adults leading to not asking for help when needed
Low Self-Confidence
Difficulties regulating emotions (example: calming self-down when upset)
Different types of play theories
Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852)
⦁ Friedrich Froebel was the founder of the first kindergarten and known as "father of Kindergarten".
⦁ Frobel explained that play is the highest expression of human development in childhood for it alone is the free expression of what is in a child’s soul.
⦁ He suggested that children should spend a lot of time outdoors and in nature.
⦁ Froebel also, recommended that the adults should give children toys to explore and learn from them, for example, a hard and soft ball.
⦁ Froebel supported the child centred approach and many of his ideas are to do with free play.
⦁ He saw how important outdoor play and natural materials in the environment were.
⦁ He also believed children needed real experiences and had to be physically active.
Susan Isaacs (1885-1948)
⦁ Susan Isaacs is known for developing the importance of play in young children.
⦁ She wrote many articles about children development and play.
⦁ Isaacs saw the importance of play to allow children the freedom to balance their ideas, feelings and relationships whilst moving in and out.
⦁ She believes that through play children could release their feelings safely and also explore a range of emotions.
⦁ Also, that play was a tool used to explore and understand a child's feelings.
⦁ She also suggested that adults should not set up a play for children but just setup a safe environment for them to play in.
⦁ She considered parents as important educators for children and suggested that formal schooling should start until the age of 7.
Chris Athey (1924-2011)
⦁ Chris Athey was greatly influenced by Piaget’s work on children’s cognitive development.
⦁ She stresses the importance of adult observation of play, and close partnership with the child's parents. This can ensure greater safety of the child.
⦁ Athey said that children should be offered real and interesting experiences to build their knowledge such as home area, gardening, clay, playing indoors or outdoors, modelling with found materials, cooking, wood work, painting and drawing.
⦁ She also, believes that the child's home language should be respected and valued.
⦁ Athey believes learning is an active process, where schemas are developed through past knowledge and experiences. This means that a child gets to develop their own habits and personalities through play.
Tina Bruce (1947)
⦁ Tina Bruce is well known for her work looking at play and learning. She identified 12 different features of play for children:
1. Children use first-hand experiences from life;
2. Children make up rules as they play in order to keep control. 3. Children symbolically represent as they play, making and adapting play props.
3. Children choose to play - they cannot be made to play.
4. Children rehearse their future in their role play.
5. Children sometimes play alone.
6. Children pretend when they play.
7. Children play with adults and other children cooperatively in pairs or groups.
8. Children have a personal play agenda, which may or may not be shared.
9. Children are deeply involved and difficult to distract from their deep learning as they wallow in their play and learning.
10. Children try out their most recently acquired skills and competencies as if celebrating what they know.
11. Children coordinate ideas and feelings and make sense of relationships with their families, friends and cultures.
⦁ Tina Bruce believes that children use play to practice what they have already learned. Play gives them a chance to understand their relationships, thoughts and feelings, and to use newly acquired physical skills.
Sara Smilansky (1922-2006)
⦁ Sara Smilanksy developed the 4 stages of play, which focused on the intellectual development of the child. Her 4 stages of play are:
1. Functional Play - Here, the children’s movements are used to provide exercise.
2. Constructive Play - The child works towards a goal – an example is when a child is completing a puzzle or a drawing.
3. Sociodramatic Play – The child assumes roles and uses language for the purpose of pretending.
4. Games with rules – This is the highest form cognitive play for children.
⦁ She defined dramatic play as taking place when a child pretends to be someone else and sociodramatic play as those times when two or more children cooperate in such role–playing.
Mildred Parten (1902-1970)
⦁ Parten believed that when children are engaged in active playtime, they learn how to interact with other children, cooperate, share and make friends.
⦁ Parten said that children’s play changed as they developed, going through six different stages that usually, but not always, correspond to children’s ages, these stages are:
1. Unoccupied play – This is when the child is not playing and just observing what is going on around them. This stage of play is mostly seen in new-borns and infants, between the ages of 0 and
2. Solitary play – This is when children will often play alone, with toys different from those of others, and be uninterested or unaware of what others around them are doing. This stage of play is most commonly seen in young toddlers between the ages of 2 and 3.
3. Onlooker play – This is when a child observes others playing but does not join the play. They will often engage in other forms of social interactions such as discussions to learn more about the game or play that is going on. This type of play is common in younger children between the ages of 2½ and 3½ but can take place at any age.
4. Parallel play – This happens when children play side-by-side from one another, but there is a lack of group involvement amongst them. They will typically be playing with similar toys and often times mimic one another. Parallel play is common in toddlers between the ages of 2 ½ and 3 ½ but can take place at any age.
5. Associative play – At this stage, children will begin to play together, but not focused towards a common goal. A child will be more interested in playing with other children around them than the individual toys they play with. This type of play typically begins around ages 3 or 4, extending into the pre-school age.
6. Cooperative play – Cooperative play is where play finally becomes organised into groups and teamwork is seen. Children are now interested in both the people that they are playing with as well as the activity at hand. Cooperative play begins in the late preschool period, between the ages of 4 and 6.
⦁ Parten found that with growing age, the children tended to engage in more social forms of play. Younger children tended to engage in more unoccupied behaviour, onlooker behaviour, and solitary play, while older pre-schoolers engaged in more cooperative play.
Comparing the Play theorist's theories
Froebel was among the first to suggest the importance of educative play in young children, he was the first who fully developed the theory that children learn through play. Froebel believed that children's learning is most effective when they are engaged in imaginative and pretend play, which involves them in deep thought. If we refer to the play theory of Bruce, he argued that recreation theory and excess energy theory led to the thinking of work and play as separate activities. Besides, recapitulation theory, practice theory and other contemporary theories such as psychoanalytic theories and cognitive theories make play a central part of education. According to Athey, early childhood educators were among the first to recognise the value of play to the young child's physical, intellectual, language, social and emotional development. Although, having to complete adult-led tasks such as work then play or play then work is seen as 'undervalued and undermines play' by Bruce. Therefore, early childhood educators need to have a clear view on what they believe and why and what this means for the early childhood setting they create. Froebel described a strong connection between play and learning while McMillan and Isaac believed in the use of play as a means of enhancing learning.