Attachment is a deep and enduring emotional bond that connects one person to another across time and space (Ainsworth, 1973; Bowlby, 1969).
Attachment occurs when a child has a secure, consistent, reciprocal relationship with a preferred person--typically the child's primary caregiver. When the caregiver is sensitive to the child's needs and responds in ways that are warm, nurturing, and make the child feel safe, the child begins to use this person as a secure base from which to explore and, when necessary, as a haven of safety and comfort (Waters & Cummings, 2000 cited in Benoit, 2004; Moulin, et al., 2014).
Benefits of Secure Attachment
Secure attachment has been linked too many positive child outcomes, including brain development. The brain grows rapidly during the first three years of life. Experiences shape how the brain grows. When it is stimulated in positive ways, the brain forms connections related to those experiences. For example, talking, singing, and reading to children help form brain pathways related to language.
Attachment affects brain development in two important ways. First, because the child feels safe and cared for, the brain can use its energy to develop pathways crucial for higher level thinking. Secure attachment is particularly related to the development of the frontal cortex, which is responsible for decision making, judgment, and reasoning (DeBellis & Thomas, 2003; Dozier, et al., 2008).
Second, by providing a "home base" from which a child can safely explore the world, secure attachment allows the child to have more varied experiences and therefore build more connections in the brain.
Social & Emotional Development. Attachment to a primary caregiver is the foundation of all future relationships. When there is a secure attachment, you learn how to trust others, how to respond emotionally, and how others will respond to you (Bowlby, 1982).
In addition, secure attachment leads to the development of empathy. If a child sees herself as worthwhile and deserving of care, she is also able to see others that way. Only when a child believes her own basic needs will be met can she attend to others' needs. The child works first to please her primary caretaker and over time extends her concerns to siblings, friends, classmates, community members, and, as her moral development continues, to people she has never met.
Self-Regulation. When caregivers respond to them, infants learn to manage their own feelings and behavior. When infants are overwhelmed, stress hormones are released in the brain. When caregivers respond with soothing behaviors, they help the child reduce these hormones.
Over time, the brain develops pathways that allow this soothing behavior to kick in during periods of stress. Eventually the child is able to calm themselves when they are angry or disappointed.
Attachment occurs when a child has a secure, consistent, reciprocal relationship with a preferred person--typically the child's primary caregiver. When the caregiver is sensitive to the child's needs and responds in ways that are warm, nurturing, and make the child feel safe, the child begins to use this person as a secure base from which to explore and, when necessary, as a haven of safety and comfort (Waters & Cummings, 2000 cited in Benoit, 2004; Moulin, et al., 2014).
Benefits of Secure Attachment
Secure attachment has been linked too many positive child outcomes, including brain development. The brain grows rapidly during the first three years of life. Experiences shape how the brain grows. When it is stimulated in positive ways, the brain forms connections related to those experiences. For example, talking, singing, and reading to children help form brain pathways related to language.
Attachment affects brain development in two important ways. First, because the child feels safe and cared for, the brain can use its energy to develop pathways crucial for higher level thinking. Secure attachment is particularly related to the development of the frontal cortex, which is responsible for decision making, judgment, and reasoning (DeBellis & Thomas, 2003; Dozier, et al., 2008).
Second, by providing a "home base" from which a child can safely explore the world, secure attachment allows the child to have more varied experiences and therefore build more connections in the brain.
Social & Emotional Development. Attachment to a primary caregiver is the foundation of all future relationships. When there is a secure attachment, you learn how to trust others, how to respond emotionally, and how others will respond to you (Bowlby, 1982).
In addition, secure attachment leads to the development of empathy. If a child sees herself as worthwhile and deserving of care, she is also able to see others that way. Only when a child believes her own basic needs will be met can she attend to others' needs. The child works first to please her primary caretaker and over time extends her concerns to siblings, friends, classmates, community members, and, as her moral development continues, to people she has never met.
Self-Regulation. When caregivers respond to them, infants learn to manage their own feelings and behavior. When infants are overwhelmed, stress hormones are released in the brain. When caregivers respond with soothing behaviors, they help the child reduce these hormones.
Over time, the brain develops pathways that allow this soothing behavior to kick in during periods of stress. Eventually the child is able to calm themselves when they are angry or disappointed.