Theories

[JackeeG92]

Hi,
I am wondering if anyone can help me on a question I'm really struggling with. Thanks in advance

Task

You are required to produce a rough draft of an information leaflet on the subject of attachment for parents and colleagues. You need to cover the following areas and make reference to the relevant attachment theories;

• The importance of positive attachments in terms of parents, practitioners and your setting’s practice that support health and wellbeing, as well as future positive outcomes for children
• The role the practitioner has in supporting and encouraging positive attachments
• The possible consequences of children not forming positive attachments, including short and long term effects.

[kaneez77]

Children thrive from a base of loving and secure relationships. This is normally provided by a child’s parents but it can also be provided by a key person. A key person is a named member of staff with responsibilities for a small group of children who helps those children in the group feel safe and cared for. The role is an important one and an approach set out in the EYFS which is working successfully in settings and in Reception classes. It involves the key person in responding sensitively to children’s feelings and behaviours and meeting emotional needs by giving reassurance, such as when they are new to a setting or class, and supporting the child’s well-being. The key person supports physical needs too, helping with issues like nappy changing, toileting and dressing. That person is a familiar figure who is accessible and available as a point of contact for parents and one who builds relationships with the child and parents or carers.

Records of development and care are created and shared by the key person, parents and the child. Small groups foster close bonds between the child and the key person in a way that large groups cannot easily do. These groups allow the key person to better ‘tune into’ children’s play and their conversations to really get to know the children in the group well. Children feel settled and happy and are more confident to explore and as a result become more capable learners.
What is attachment and why is it important for young children? Attachments are the emotional bonds that young children develop with parents and other carers such as their key person. Children with strong early attachments cry less when separated. They engage in more pretend play and sustain attention for longer. They are less aggressive and are popular with other children and with adults. Their sense of who they are is strong. Children need to be safe in the relationship they have with parents or carers. They are vulnerable but will develop resilience when their physical and psychological well-being is protected by an adult. Being emotionally attached to such an adult helps the child feel secure that the person they depend on is there for them. When children feel safe they are more inclined to try things out and be more independent. They are confident to express their ideas and feelings and feel good about themselves. Attachment influences a child’s immediate all-round development and future relationships.

[kaneez77]

The Key Person's Role As a Key Person, a nursery practitioner will be responsible for a small group of children. In a professional way, the Key Person needs to demonstrate three characteristics: availability, sensitivity and warmth (Siren Film 2). Settling in Before a child is due to start at the early years setting, the Key Person meets with the child and their parent, either at home or in the nursery, to plan a suitable settling in programme. They learn little facts about the child, such as who is in their family, what they like to do, how they like to be held. It is the Key Person who greets the child at the start of a session, and supports the parent and the child as they say goodbye. By sensitively handling this moment, which is naturally distressing for the securely attached child and parent ‘the Key Person can help to make the parting a dignified and carefully thought out time, even if it is quite a brief affair' (E, G, S, p.24). The practitioner is also present at the reunion between parent and child 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.

[kaneez77]

Long Term Effects of Attachment





The Securely Attached Child

According to multiple studies, children who have developed a secure attachment style at an early age grow to develop strong social skills and healthy, fulfilling friendships and relationships as they age. Dr. Sears’ organization describes their findings that attachment parenting started early in life tends to lead to what they call the “Six Childhood C’s”—children are observed to be Caring, Compassionate, Connected, Careful, Confident, and parents themselves are Confident about their parenting skills. These children develop an inner sense of comfort and security as early as toddlerhood. They are also open to redirection from adults in their behavior and strive to be well behaved in order to please parents and other caregivers (Sears).

Once school begins, these children have well developed social skills and are good at cooperation, thus they tend to get along well with other children and in many cases are very popular with their peers. The exhibit empathy and enjoy helping others, both friends and adults. They are curious about learning and tend to achieve high marks academically in addition to being willing to ask for help from adults when they feel it is needed. These children also tend to have high self-esteem, are comfortable expressing affection and their general emotions, and have a well developed sense of right and wrong (Sears). According to the longitudinal study mentioned above, in early school years these children’s social skills were rated as highly developed by their teachers, and around age sixteen they tended to have a larger number of intimate friendships (Simpson et.al., 2007).

When Simpson, et. al.’s study revisited the securely attached children in their early twenties to examine their romantic relationships, these individuals as well as their partners were found to have more positivity overall in their daily interactions. These couples were also fairly adept at resolving conflicts and cooperating on tasks without developing negative feelings towards each other. As adults, Dr. Sears found that the previously-securely-attached children were considerably more likely to have satisfying marriages. In addition to this, they were considerably less prone to addictive behaviors such as alcoholism and drug abuse, they did not tend to have difficulties with aggression or violence, and then were described as more psychologically stable overall.

Although with dedication and support, attachment styles can technically be altered at any stage, not only is secure attachment easier to foster in young children, but it tends to foreshadows greater ease and wellbeing in all the following stages of development, continuing on into adulthood.




The Insecurely Attached Child


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. Dr. William Sears, MD, who some claim to be the man most responsible for the development of Attachment Parenting (a way of parenting geared toward fostering secure attachment in children), reports a number of characteristics often observed in insecurely attached children as they grow:

– Misbehavior/receive constant reprimands (school & home)

– Constant dissociation or ‘tuning out’

– Aggressive and/or manipulative behavior 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)

Dr. Sears’ research also found that insecurely attached adults were morally immature, still having difficulty understanding the concepts of ‘right’ and ‘wrong.’ There were also links found between severe levels of insecure attachment and later addictive tendencies as well as violence and sociopathic behaviors (Sears).

Another recent study found similar results. Researchers followed 78 individuals from infancy through their early twenties, studying the subjects’ attachment styles during infancy and then periodically checking in on them at several points deemed as pivotal points of development. It was found that social proficiency at one level tended to predict proficiency for the next level. Thus, insecurely attached infants were mostly found to be lacking in social competence in early childhood, had a fewer number of intimate friendships around age 16, and in their romantic relationships in their early twenties experienced less positive emotions and more negativity when trying to resolve conflicts or cooperate with partners on tasks (Simpson, Collins, Tran, & Haydon, 2007).

Insecurely attached children often come across as being difficult or irritable, as they are unsure of how to connect on a warm, intimate level with parents early on and thus often try to do so by acting out. Parents understandably don’t want to encourage what is seen as misbehavior and tend to distance themselves. This leads to insecurely attached children constantly finding themselves ignored, reprimanded or shunned when trying to reach out for connection. This tends to snowball with time as these individuals become more and increasingly unsure about how to relate to others as they age (Sears).

[JackeeG92]

Thank you, your a life saver