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Attachment: Programs and Families Working Together

Learning Objectives

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

▸▸ Discuss the history of attachment theory and be able to define attachment.

▸▸ Recognize the importance of developing a secure attachment in infants and young children.

▸▸ Describe the four types of attachment and typical behaviors associated with each.

▸▸ Differentiate among the different kinds of temperaments and explain how a child’s temperament can affect the development of attachment.

▸▸ Explain how parents can foster a child’s secure attachment during the first three stages of Erikson’s psychosocial theory.

▸▸ Examine the relationship between cultural diversity and attachment.

▸▸ Identify how an early care and education program can develop and foster secure attachment in infants and young children.

▸▸ Explain how an early care and education program and family can work together to enhance the development of secure attachment.

Attachment Theory Chapter 2

Introduction It is a marvel to see a family of mallard ducks walk across a street, mother proudly in front and tiny little ducklings following in a straight line behind. In a flock of sheep with new lambs, it is amazing to see how each pair is somehow able to find each other. In these cases, there is an inborn instinct or bond between the mother and new offspring. This is a survival mechanism that helps the parent care for the tiny, vulnerable new babies.

But what about humans? Do we have a similar bond or connection? Is there some kind of built-in mechanism that creates a connection between a parent and his or her newborn child? It is generally believed that humans do have a similar connection or bond, known as attach- ment (see Chapter 1). According to attachment theory, attachment plays a critical role in the healthy development of the infant and young child and determines whether the child grows into a secure or insecure adult. According to Ainsworth (1973), attachment is an emotional tie formed between one individual and another specific individual. Bowlby (1988) believes that babies are born with behaviors—crying, smiling, and clinging—that elicit caregiving behaviors from parents. An infant, however, is not born with attachment. Rather, attachment develops over time as the result of dynamic interactions between the infant and mother or other sig- nificant caregivers.

Attachment develops slowly, from birth through the child’s first years. As infants interact with important adults in their lives, they develop a concept or model of their relationship with oth- ers—what we call an internal working model (Bowlby, 1973). This model then influences the development of later relationships and acts as a guide to emotions, perceptions, and attitudes. The view that attachment is a critical model that sets the stage for healthy develop- ment is known as attachment theory. Not all children develop secure, healthy attachments; some develop insecure attachments that have an impact on their future relationships and their self-image. The nature of the child’s attachment to his or her mother or other significant adult can have a profound effect on the child’s later development. As this chapter describes, there are different qualities of attachment, each of which can affect development in a variety of dynamic ways.

In this chapter, we explore attachment theory in depth, examine how Erikson’s first three stages—trust versus mistrust, autonomy versus shame and doubt, and initiative versus guilt— are related to attachment, consider cultural issues related to attachment, and describe ways the early childhood program can support the development of healthy attachments. Finally, we explore ways in which the early care and education program can work with the family to develop secure attachment in infants and young children.

2.1 Attachment Theory John Bowlby, a British pediatrician, and Mary Ainsworth, an American researcher, were the architects of the current understanding of attachment theory. Bowlby presented his work in a series of papers and writings, based on observations of children aged 1 to 4 years old in British hospitals (1969, 1973, 1980), while Mary Ainsworth studied infants and their moth- ers in Uganda (1967). Ainsworth and Bowlby later met and continued to explore various issues associated with attachment. Ainsworth developed an experiment to determine the quality of attachment between an infant and the infant’s mother. From this experiment, she described three different categories of attachment: secure, insecure-resistant/ambivalent, and insecure-avoidant.

Attachment Theory Chapter 2

Types of Attachment

Mary Ainsworth observed infants, aged 12 to 18 months old, in an experiment in which the infant and mother entered a playroom containing both toys and a stranger to the infant. The mother then left, and the infant interacted with the stranger. Later, the mother re-entered, and the stranger left. This sequence was then repeated. Based on the infant’s behavior with the mother, attachment was determined. Ainsworth called this the Strange Situation experiment.

Ainsworth categorized attachment under securely attached and insecurely attached. In addition, she described two kinds of insecure attachments. Infants who mildly protest when their mothers leave but then actively seek reunion with them when they return are those with secure attachment. The securely attached infant then goes back to explore and play with the toys, using his or her mother as a strong psychological base, checking in once in a while.

Infants who are extremely upset when their mothers leave, often clinging to them and crying, and who initially seek comfort from their mothers or other caregivers on their return but then turn away in anger and irritability or struggle to get away, have an insecure-resistant/ambivalent attachment. Infants who ignore their mothers and continue to play when they leave as well as when they return to the room have an insecure-avoidant attachment. Insecurely attached infants are often angry at home, and hostile and unfeeling in the preschool with peers (Honig, 2002).

Since Ainsworth’s work, another distinct category of attachment has been added. Infants who display conflicting behaviors both when their mothers leave and when they return have disoriented/disorganized attachment (Hesse & Main, 2000). On the return of their moth- ers, the infants may initially move toward them, then stop and redirect their attention, or they may avoid them on their return and then seek closeness later. They appear to be confused about what they should do (Main & Solomon, 1990).

The Role of the Mother (and Other Caregivers)

Infants attach to significant adults in their lives. These adults are usually the child’s mother, but not always. The infant establishes a primary attachment relationship with this person, which determines the nature and quality of the child’s development. For example, moth- ers who have securely attached children engage in nurturing behaviors with their children, whereas mothers of insecurely attached children tend to be inconsistent, intrusive, and unpre- dictable (Belsky, Rovine, & Taylor, 1984). Specifically, mothers of securely attached infants

• are sensitive and responsive

• hold their infants tenderly and carefully

• enjoy playfully interacting with their infants

• feed their infants when they are hungry and in a way they like

• let the infants play freely on the floor

▲ Of Mary Ainsworth’s types of attachment between caregiver and child, secure attachment is the most favorable relationship.

Attachment Theory Chapter 2

• sensitively respond to the infants’ emotional changes

• respond sensitively and immediately to the infants’ physical and emotional distress

• provide face-to-face feedback to the infants on language, behavior, and emotions (Honig, 2002)

Mothers of insecurely attached infants, on the other hand, inconsistently or rarely exhibit behaviors (e.g., cuddling, picking up, soothing, providing feedback, and playing) that allow their infants to feel secure. These mothers may engage in these behaviors only when it suits them. They can be intrusive and controlling and seem insensitive to the emotional and physi- cal needs of their infants. Mothers of insecurely attached infants are often under extreme stress both at home and in the workplace. The mothers of avoidant/insecure infants seem to dislike contact with their infants and do not enjoy interacting with them. They are resent- ful and angry; they appear to reject the infant and have few positive feelings toward them. Mothers of disoriented infants are often severely depressed or mentally ill; they may also be dependent on drugs. They exhibit distant and inappropriate behaviors toward their infants.

There are many reasons for the difference in behavior between mothers of securely attached and insecurely attached infants. Parenting skills, knowledge of child development, stress, drug dependency, and mental illness are all contributing factors.

The Effects of Early Attachment

Through physical and emotional closeness to their mothers or other caregivers, infants develop a sense of security (Ainsworth, 1973). This feeling of closeness and emotional warmth allows infants to develop expectations of their attachment future—that significant people in their lives will respond to their needs, and that significant people in their lives will be available to them when needed.

Secure attachment grows when an infant’s basic needs are immediately and warmly addressed by the mother, father, and/or other caregivers. When an infant cries in distress and his or her caregiver responds, this attachment behavior continues to grow. If the pattern of behavior becomes one of coldness, unavailability, and inattention, the infant develops defenses against stress, unhappiness, and insecurity (Honig, 2002). This may exhibit itself by the infant avoiding or ignoring their parent or other caregiver.

Attachment also affects an infant’s own sense of worthiness. A rejected child may begin to see himself or herself as a victim, as someone whom others do not love or care for. This self- view is the child’s internal working model. The more a negative working model is reinforced by the behavior of adults in the child’s environment, the stronger it becomes, and the more difficult it is to change. Further, the child’s feelings of rejection may produce negative behav- iors that result in teachers and caregivers responding negatively to the child, thus fulfilling the child’s negative expectations.

A key element of attachment is this internal working model. If children believe their caregiv- ers love and accept them for who they are, they will develop positive attachments (Bowlby, 1958). When attachment is produced through warm, responsive personal relationships, a child develops expectations of comfort, security, and a deep sense of self-worth. Warm, per- sonal, physical touch from a caregiver is one way secure attachment is developed. See Helping Children Develop: The Importance of Touch for more about the critical need for touch in the development of secure attachment.

Attachment Theory Chapter 2

H E L P I N G C H I L D R E N D E V E L O P :

The Importance of Touch

According to Anderson, Moore, Hepworth, and Bergman (2003), infants who experience skin- to-skin contact with their mothers soon after birth sleep longer, cry less, and have longer periods when they are open to learning. They also can maintain their body temperature more effectively. Skin-to-skin contact results in physical and emotional gains for the infant (Ferber & Makhoul, 2004).

Mothers instinctively embrace their newborns, which has positive benefits for infants, including premature babies. This can be seen in the approach known as "kangaroo care." A naked (but diapered) newborn lies on the mother's or father's chest, with the baby's ear next to the parent's heart. When used with premature infants, this approach often has positive outcomes for the child (Carlson, 2006).

Touch is also critical for the healthy brain development of the infant. Touch—including skin-to-skin touch and cuddling—stimulates and suppresses the release of powerful hormones. Oxytocin is one of the hormones triggered by touch. This hormone increases trust and reduces feelings of fear; it protects the body against damage from stress, reduces anxiety, and assists with the secretion of the growth hormone. High levels of cortisol in infants damage the part of the brain that controls mem- ory and cognition. Children who experience sustained, chronically high levels of cortisol are more at risk for cognitive, social, physical, and other developmental delays (Shore, 1997). High levels also kill brain cells and reduce the number of new brain connections. Oxytocin, produced through touch, reduces levels of cortisol (Shore, 1997).

Serotonin is a chemical that helps balance mood, sleep patterns, and pain awareness. Dopamine helps brain functions, including movement, memory, attention, problem solving, and well-being. Both of these chemicals are increased through touch.

During the first seven years of life, a child’s brain is particularly responsive to stimulation. This stimu- lation, which includes touch, produces a great amount of new neural connections. As children learn to walk and seek out sensory input, they also seek out lots of tactile experiences. This includes tac- tile stimulation of their hands and bare feet from lots of different surface textures they hold, touch, and walk on.

Finally, when a caregiver consistently and sensitively responds to an infant’s needs, the baby learns to trust that the world is a predictable and caring place. This develops secure attachment in the infant. And one of the infant’s basic needs is touch. Touch helps infants and young children feel emotionally secure. Infants receive touch through breastfeeding, cuddling, being held, and all sorts of sensitive, responsive, physical play.

Although the initial development of attachment is important, it is a process that continues to evolve, especially during the early years. Thus, if a child’s initial experiences are negative, sub- sequent positive interactions with parents, teachers, and others can help that child develop greater security. However, this may be difficult to accomplish because adults often see chil- dren who are insecurely attached as more difficult to love and care for in a responsive, warm, sensitive manner.

The Child’s Temperament and Attachment

So far, we have discussed the impact of the behavior of a parent or other caregiver on the development of secure and insecure attachment in children. But what about the child’s

Attachment Theory Chapter 2

behavior—does it also have an influence on attachment? After all, attachment is the result of a dynamic relationship between the child and the caregiver.

Every human has a distinct personality. Some people are happy-go-lucky and spontaneous. Others are serious and careful, and some people always seem to be tense and upset. Much of this distinct personality is caused by a genetically inherited predisposition to emotions, activity, and self-regu- lation, called temperament. Temperament traits originate with nature—they are inherited from our parents. However, experiences in early childhood can—and will—modify a per- son’s later personality (Goldsmith et al., 1987). In the 1950s and 1960s, a famous study was conducted on the temper- ament of infants, known as the New York Longitudinal Study (Thomas, Chess, & Birch, 1968). This study of temper- ament was conducted on the same children over a six-year span. According to the study, infants as young as 4 months old exhibit a variety of temperamental traits that can be cat- egorized into four groups (see Figure 2.1).

Easy. An infant with an easy temperament displays regular biological functions (e.g., going to sleep, eating) and a posi- tive approach to change and new stimuli, adapts well to new situations, and exhibits a mild to moderate intensity when reacting to change. Easy children are generally in a positive mood, and adults enjoy being around them.

Difficult. A child with a difficult temperament displays irregular biological functioning (e.g., is very difficult to get to sleep at night, eats at different times of the day) and negative and often intense responses to new situations and to any kind of change. In general, a child with this temperament is frequently in a negative mood, and adults often avoid contact with the child.

Slow-to-warm. The slow-to-warm temperament manifests in somewhat irregular bio- logical functions. Slow-to-warm children exhibit a negative response to new stimuli and adapt slowly to change. The child’s mood is initially negative but then improves to a more positive one over time. In common language, we tend to call a child with this temperament “shy.” Adults must be very sensitive to the changes in mood in these children and adapt sensitively to them.

We know that a child’s temperament affects the way a parent or caregiver responds to the infant. For example, difficult infants (i.e., fragile, needy, and often crying) are at the greatest risk of child abuse (Bugenthal & Happaney, 2004; Rothbart, Pott, Azuma, Miyake, & Weitsz, 2004), as are premature infants, children with disabilities, and children who are irritable and not easily soothed (Thompson & Wyatt, 1999).

Children with difficult temperaments pose a particular challenge for parents and other care- givers. Not only do they exhibit behaviors that required a great deal of patience, flexibility, and

▲ Even young children have a discernible temperament. Children with a difficult temperament react negatively to change and new situations.

Attachment Theory Chapter 2

understanding, but they produce fewer joyful and engaging behaviors that trigger positive responses in adults (Thomas & Chess, 1986). According to Kostelnik, Whiren, Soderman, and Gregory (2009), children with difficult temperaments require lots of patience, persistence, and care from very secure adults who are not under stress and have time to give to them. Parents and other caregivers who lack these critical attributes are more likely to engage in the kinds of behaviors with difficult children that lead to insecure attachment. This is also true to an extent for slow-to-warm children, particularly if the child does not meet the expectations of the parent or other caregiver.

This is one critical reason why each child must be treated as an individual and not compared to other children, either at home or in the program. For example, a father who is frustrated when his 5-year-old daughter is very upset because her mother momentarily left the table at a restaurant should not say to his daughter, “Why can’t you behave nicely like your brother? He’s not upset.” Rather, the father should empathize with the child and patiently say, “I know you want your mother. She'll be back in a few minutes.” In a similar vein, a teacher who tries to encourage a slow-to-warm boy to enter a game with other children should not say to the boy, “Look, all the other children are playing together happily.” In this case, the teacher might suggest, “When you are ready to join in, I am sure the other children will welcome you.”

The ability of the caregiver to respond in a timely and sensitive manner to the temperamental differences of children is called goodness-of-fit, or the ability to match the physical and emotional environment to the unique temperament of each child. Caregivers need to learn how to treat each child as a unique individual whose daily rhythms, emotional responses to the environment, and overall temperament require a careful behavioral match by the caregiver.

Easy 40%

Hard to Classify 35%

Slow to Warm 15%

Difficult 10%

Figure 2.1: Four Groups of Infant Temperament, by Percentage

A majority of children have easy tempera- ments. But many children exhibit some combination of temperaments, and so their dispositions are hard to classify.

The Parent’s and Teacher’s Roles in Each of Erikson’s Stages Chapter 2

2.2 The Parent’s and Teacher’s Roles in Each of Erikson’s Stages

In Chapter 1, we introduced Erikson’s psychosocial stage theory. This is an eight-stage theory that covers birth to death—a lifespan theory. Recall that the first three stages are trust versus mistrust (birth to 1 year old), autonomy versus shame or doubt (1 to 3 years old), and initiative versus guilt (3 to 6 years old). Both the parent and the caregiver in an early care and education program have a direct influence on the successful completion of each of these stages.

Caregivers who offer a loving, responsive relationship that provides focused attention to the needs of infants and young children are most likely to rear well-motivated and prosocial chil- dren with high self-esteem (Honig, 2005). However, caregivers need to be aware of devel- opmental crises to help children overcome these specific challenges more effectively. For example, an infant’s development includes a series of challenges to caregivers (e.g., learning to walk and toilet training). These challenges can serve as a potential opportunity for positive social interactions between the caregiver and the infant. Clearly, the progression of the child through the first three of Erikson’s stages, and the caregiver’s ability to provide support for the resolution of each stage, directly affects the development of attachment in young children (Bretherton & Waters, 1986; Sameroff & Emde, 1990).

Trust Versus Mistrust

To support the positive development of this stage, parents and other caregivers must be able to interpret the infant’s signals of distress and other needs, and care for the infant’s unique needs through cuddling, turn-taking in communication, games, and joyful play. Other care- giver behaviors that increase the development of secure attachment in the infant include lots of intimate touch and meeting the child’s unique social, emotional, and physical needs. Each child’s basic needs must also be met uniquely: diaper changes, feeding, comforting, and sleep. Through these responsive behaviors by the caregiver, the infant learns he or she is important and that the world can be trusted.

Autonomy Versus Shame/Doubt

During this stage, caregivers need to find an appropriate goodness-of-fit between adult expectations (e.g., neatness, schedules, obedience to rules) and what the toddler is devel- opmentally capable of doing. Firm, pleasant control—without a sense of shame—and calm, accepting handling of conflicts can increase toddler autonomy. Caregivers should not focus on the toddler’s temporary failures; rather, support should be given to help the toddler achieve developmental tasks.

This sensitive yet firm support of the child’s struggle for autonomy increases a sense of secure attachment because it builds a bond between the child and the caregiver as the caregiver responds to the child’s unique needs, provides feedback to the child’s behavior, interprets his or her signals, and plays affectionately with him or her.

Initiative Versus Guilt

Piaget was a developmental scientist from Switzerland who studied how children think and develop cognition. He created a four-stage theory of cognitive development. Children at this

Attachment and Cultural Diversity Chapter 2

age (3-6 years old) are in his second stage, the preoperational stage. They are very fascinated with discovering everything they can about the world. Piaget viewed young children as little scientists (Siegler & Alibali, 2005). This describes what Erikson terms initiative: the desire to find out everything they can about the world and how it works. Thus, as we discuss Erikson’s initiative versus guilt stage, it is important to understand its relationship to Piaget’s preop- erational stage. At this stage, children are fascinated with the real world of insects, animals, plants, objects, and people. They want to know how everything works and why things hap- pen the way they do.

Piaget argued that this active exploration of the world is how children construct knowledge. Specifically, according to Piaget, children create what he calls schemes. A scheme is an abstract cognitive structure through which the organism assimilates information (Brainerd, 1978). Essentially, a scheme is a unit of information that is used by the child to process and store information. For example, the scheme for a dog might initially be a small, black, four-legged animal with a tail that barks. As the child interacts with more dogs, this scheme becomes more sophisticated and accurate. Thus, young children need lots of opportunities to play with a rich variety of natural and man-made materials. As children explore the natural and social world, caregivers should help children make choices and select tasks. They should help children engage in moral and prosocial reasoning, talking about why certain behaviors are good and moral, and why some are not. While rules should be clear, children should feel that they have some input into developing the rules. These rules should be enforced consistently and fairly.

From an attachment perspective, adults should encourage the child’s exploration and investi- gation, both of social and physical environments. They should continue to be warm, respon- sive people who sensitively meet the child’s unique physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and moral needs (Honig & Lally, 1990; Lally, Mangione, & Honig, 1988). For example, when young children first visit a museum and discover they can hold a pet tarantula, some 4-year-olds will be very enthusiastic about this possibility, while others will be extremely hesitant. In the first instance, the teacher should support the child’s enthusiasm, while also reminding the child to be careful when holding the spider and telling him or her not to pick up spiders at home. For the second child, the teacher could model holding the tarantula to demonstrate to the child that the spider is safe to hold.

2.3 Attachment and Cultural Diversity Attachment is formed, supported, and reinforced by certain behaviors of the adult care- giver, which are influenced greatly by the child. However, parents from different cultural backgrounds raise children differently. In the United States and throughout the world, a variety of different child-rearing practices and adult-child behaviors are used. These differ- ent approaches are deeply embedded within the culture of the parents and other caregiv- ers who interact with the child. Spotlight: To Sleep Alone? illustrates one of these cultural differences. But what is culture, and how does it have an impact on the attachment of a child?

In the book Multicultural Principles (Administration for Children and Families, Head Start Office, 2010), a variety of definitions of culture are provided:

• “a framework that guides and bounds life practices” (Hanson, 1992)

• “the organized and common practices of particular communities” (Rogoff, 1990)

Attachment and Cultural Diversity Chapter 2

• “the complex processes of human social interaction and symbolic communication” (Hernandez, 1989, p. 45)

• “patterns, explicit and implicit, of and for behaviors acquired and transmitted by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievement of human groups, including their embodiment in artifacts” (Kroeber & Kluckhohn, 1952, p. 357)

• “the ways and manners people use to see, perceive, represent, interpret, and assign value and meaning to the reality they live or experience” (de Melendez & Ostertag, 1997)

S P O T L I G H T :

To Sleep Alone?

In modern Western cultures, infants usually sleep in a crib in a separate room from their parents. In Africa, Asia, and Central and South America, infants usually sleep in the same room as their par- ents, and often in the same bed. This practice is called co-sleeping and the family bed.

Reasons for these different approaches include a focus in Western cultures on developing early independence in children, a rigid approach to schedules and work/non-work timeframes, and a fear in Western families that young children might be traumatized by parents’ sexual interactions. While non-Western societies tend to be more communal and less focused on rigid daily schedules, many low-income families in Asia, Africa, and Central and South America (and to some extent, in the United States) cannot afford individual bedrooms for their children.

Advantages of co-sleeping include easy access to breastfeeding and more convenience for both the mother and child to go back to sleep after a feeding or other sleep interruption (Mao, Burnham, Goodlin-Jones, Gaylor, & Anders, 2004; Ruys, de Jonge, Brand, R., Engelberts, & Semmekrot, 2007).

More and more parents in Western cultures are engaging in co-sleeping and the family bed. The actual numbers are unclear; however, in many families infants sleep with their parents, either at the beginning of the night (when it is difficult to fall asleep) or after an infant wakes during the night (Blair & Ball, 2004; Keller & Goldberg, 2004).

Co-sleeping and the family bed have become a controversial issue within the Western medical, child care, psychology, and social work fields. Some argue that the practice increases the incidence of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) (Ruys et al., 2007). Others point out that in cultures in which the family bed is the norm, SIDS is much lower than it is in Western societies (Byard, 2004; Gantley, Davies, & Murcott, 1993). Others distinguish between co-sleeping (in the same room) and bed shar- ing (in the same bed) (Alm, 2007).

There is no evidence that children who sleep in a family bed are hesitant to move into their own bed—and to a sense of independence—when they grow older. Further, some parents engage in co-sleeping to promote physical and psychological closeness and attachment. Pediatrician William Sears (2001) recommends what he calls attachment parenting. He advises parents to do the follow- ing: (1) bond with their infant at birth; (2) breastfeed; (3) share a bed; family bed (4) carry the baby in a sling; and (5) respond to the baby’s cries as an important signal of need.

One alternative to the traditional Western approach that still provides intimacy and access to breast- feeding, while reducing the risk of SIDS, is to have a crib or bassinet in the same room, next to the parents’ bed.

Attachment and Cultural Diversity Chapter 2

You can see that there is no agreed-upon def- inition of culture. However, all of these defi- nitions point to how groups of people affect the values, behaviors, interactions, and sym- bols of individuals within them. And one of the central ways cultures exhibit themselves in families is in the way children are raised.

Four critical characteristics of culture must be kept in mind. First, culture can be the product of a vast variety of groups, or societies, includ- ing but not limited to geographic regions, eth- nic and racial groups, national peoples, tribes, and economic and religious groups. Second, cultures are dynamic—they are continually under a state of flux and change. A third ele- ment of culture, particularly in an ever-more diverse and global world, is that cultures con- tinually come up against other cultures, and they are changed by this contact. This process, whereby people and cultures change and adapt as they are exposed to other peoples and cultures, resulting in the dynamic, ever-changing nature of societies, is called acculturation (Wardle & Cruz-Janzen, 2004). Finally, cultures often exist within larger, more global cultures. We talk of the United States society as comprising many cultures—being multicultural. However, if you talk to people who do not live in the United States but have met an American or someone who has come to the United States from another country, they are likely to tell you that there is such a concept as the U.S. culture (Wardle, 2011b).

When considering cultures and the cultural contexts in which children and families are embed- ded, Ngo (2008) reminds us that cultural characteristics are not absolute and do not occur as opposites. It is not minority versus majority, individual versus communal, and competitive versus collective characteristics and behaviors that are exhibited by people from specific cultures, but rather cultural nuances and complexities. On the issue of independence versus dependence, for example, the question should be how are both independence and interdependence under- stood and valued in relationship to children’s development in different cultures (Raeff, 2010)?

Cross-cultural research using the Strange Situation experiment shows that, across cultures and countries, the same numbers of infants are classified as displaying secure attachment (Sagi, van Ijzendoorn, & Koren-Karie, 1991). However, the proportion of infants in the various inse- cure attachment categories differs from culture to culture.

For example, in Japan infants became upset when mothers left the room and ambivalent on the return of their mothers. Their attachment relationship was characterized by researchers as insecure-resistant/ambivalent attached (Miyake, Chen & Campos, 1985; Takahashi, 1990). Infants in Japan rarely leave their mothers’ side, babysitters are uncommon, and when par- ents need care for their infants, grandparents are used (Saarni, Mumme, & Campos, 1998). In Germany, a culture very different from Japan, infants do not seem upset at all when their mothers leave and are not too eager to rejoin their mothers on their return. They seem to dis- play an insecure-avoidant attachment (Grossmann, Grossmann, Huber, & Wartner, 1981). In Germany and other European countries, mothers often leave infants alone for short periods, and the infants’ behavior seems to reflect this.

▲ Parents come from many different cultural back- grounds, which will influence and dictate how they raise their children.

Nurturing Secure Attachment in Early Care and Education Programs Chapter 2

Because parents in all countries and cultures believe they are good parents who are attached to their children, the understanding of what constitutes attachment differs from culture to culture. Mothers in Japan view their children as securely attached if they behave well, coop- erate, and do not bring attention to themselves (Rothbaum, Pott, Azuma, Miyake, & Weitsz, 2000). However, mothers in the primarily white cultures of Europe and North America are more likely to associate secure attachment with autonomy and individuality.

Children in a variety of cultures develop secure attachments. Further, the development of secure attachment is not a function of culture, but is rather, as has been pointed out, the direct result of specific adult-child interactions. So long as the significant caregivers in the child’s life—either their biological parent(s) or other important adults—engage in the kinds of behaviors that we know foster the development of secure attachment, children will develop secure attachment (NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, 2001). Further, in collective societies it may be easier to provide attachment behaviors for difficult children (those with medical or other challenges, and children with difficult temperaments), because a variety of adults are available to provide sensitive, supportive, warm, and responsive care.

From a diversity perspective, it is critically important to understand that it is not the family’s structure or the family’s culture that determines whether a child develops secure attachment, but the variety and consistency of ways significant adults in the child’s life interact with the child (Honig, 2002, 2005).

2.4 Nurturing Secure Attachment in Early Care and Education Programs

Our discussion of attachment has focused on the primary caregiver—often the mother— and the child because this is the strongest early influence and where attachment initially develops. But attachment can also be encouraged, supported, and fostered within the early care and education program. Both the family and the early care and education pro- gram belong within Bronfenbrenner’s microsystem—the first and most direct context (see Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory in Chapter 1) (Bronfenbrenner, 1979, 1995; Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1998). This is because both the family and early care and educa- tion programs have a direct and powerful impact on the child’s development and learning. This impact includes powerful influences that help shape the development and reinforce- ment of secure attachment.

Types of Early Care and Education Programs

Before we reflect on their capacity for nurturing attachment, it is important to consider the many types of early care programs currently available. In the United States, a wide range of programs are designed to care for and educate children aged infant to 5 years old (Neugebauer, 2008). These programs include the following:

• private, for-profit, community programs (a single program or several programs)

• private, not-for-profit, community-based programs (a single program or several pro- grams under the same ownership)

• national for-profit child care chains

• Head Start and Early Head Start

Nurturing Secure Attachment in Early Care and Education Programs Chapter 2

• mother’s day out programs (mothers share caring for their children, a few days a week)

• programs sponsored by religious organiza- tions. Nearly one in four early childhood facili- ties in the United States are associated with a religious organization (Neugebauer, 2005). These include Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Mormon, Muslim, Buddhist, and Seventh-day Adventist programs.

• programs—both private and not-for-profit— targeted to single populations (e.g., gifted students, homeless families, and children with specific developmental delays)

• public school preschool programs. According to Kagan, Carroll, Comer, and Scott-Little, almost all states now fund some kind of pre- school program. Sometimes these are within public school buildings; others are run in a variety of community early childhood settings.

• programs for infants and toddlers of teen parents attending public high schools

• campus child care programs. These are programs associated with, and partially subsi- dized by, a college or university. Most research on infant care and early education is conducted in these campus programs.

• employee child care. These are on-site programs for companies and government agen- cies. They might be run by a child care chain (i.e., Bright Horizons) or are a private, stand-alone program.

• drop-in child care. These programs, both for profit and not-for-profit, are housed in shopping centers, hospitals, government agencies, and other places where parents need short, one-time care for their children.

• family/home-based child care

A variety of state and local agencies provides governance for these programs. Enforcement for early care and education programs differs from state to state and county or city. The rules and regulations cover everything from adult-child ratios, space requirements, and food health rules, to qualifications of directors, group leaders, teachers, and caregivers. Many of these programs must meet regulations for several different agencies. For example, Head Start must comply with local child care regulations and stringent national Head Start performance standards. Public school programs must follow both the local child care rules and regulations and the state’s school standards. In some states, religious programs are exempt from some of the state and local licensing standards (Neugebauer, 2005). Further, rules and regulations for home-based/family child care tend to differ from those for center-based programs.

Additionally, many states now have an evaluation process for determining the quality of programs. These standards are usually based on the Clifford/Harms rating scales (Harms & Clifford, 1998), and they rate the early childhood programs using a fairly simple scale (on a scale from 0 to 5 stars). Additionally, there are a number of national accrediting systems used by many programs to demonstrate their quality to the community. These will be discussed in more depth in Chapter 10.

▲ Though the mother is often the first primary attachment the child forms, early childhood educa- tors also play an important role in a child’s growth and development.

Nurturing Secure Attachment in Early Care and Education Programs Chapter 2

Curricula

As one would expect, the wide range of early care and education programs that operate throughout the United States implement a vast array of curricular approaches. Most public school early childhood programs use some form of extension of the public school curriculum, along with adhering to a state-developed standards framework, which generally focuses on kindergarten readiness (Kagan et al., 2006). Head Start must follow the shifting mandates of a federally funded program sensitive to the political whims of the time. Religious programs generally have approaches developed by a national office, although they are often tailored to local needs. The religious approaches usually include in their content specific religious beliefs, values, rituals, and other religious content.

Single, community-based programs—both for profit and not-for- profit—use a range of curricular approaches, from the adoption of national curricula such as Creative Curriculum, High/Scope, and Core Knowledge Curriculum, to individual approaches described as play based and developmentally appropriate. Then there are programs associated with well-known accepted approaches: Montessori, Waldorf, British Infant/Primary, and Reggio Emilia.

The Montessori approach focuses on a carefully planned and aes- thetic environment, child-sized equipment, self-correcting materials, multi-age grouping of children, and large blocks of time for individual- ized, uninterrupted activities. Curricular content includes practical life (use of child-size brooms, mops, jugs, glassware, and other everyday items), exploring the world through the arts and movement, learn- ing through multisensory experiences, and using carefully designed, concrete materials. Literacy is encouraged by first developing a rich oral language as a foundation, and the arts are used to focus on self- expression and teaching social studies (Kahn, 1995).

The Waldorf curriculum is broken into three developmental stages: (1) early childhood (infant to the end of kindergarten), which is the time to develop the body and senses; (2) middle childhood (first grade to puberty), where the focus is on learning through feelings and imagination; and (3) from puberty on, when children engage in the specialized studies of specific curricular content and academic skills. In the first period, children are exposed to learning about the environment through their senses and developing their imagination. Exploration and creative play are encouraged, and role playing of

parents’ activities, painting and drawing, and developing language through nursery rhymes, fairy tales, puppet shows, and songs are emphasized.

The day, week, and year are organized around natural patterns, such as the children coming in the morning, lunch time, play, and small groups; the seasons of the year create patterns for the schedule. These rhythms are designed to connect each child to the external world (Trostli, 1998).

The curriculum of British Infant/Primary school programs is based on the constructivist phi- losophies of Dewey and Piaget. Projects of interest to each child form the foundation to the curriculum and are pursued in mixed-age groups. The process of accomplishing the projects is

▲ Though customizable and unique, curricula for the vari- ous early childhood education programs often must comply with state and local standards to ensure kindergarten readiness or to comply with the political cli- mate if the program is federally funded.

Nurturing Secure Attachment in Early Care and Education Programs Chapter 2

the mechanism used to teach various academic and social skills. As can be seen, the curricular content is presented in a whole-to-part approach, as opposed to the traditional curricula that tends to focus on parts to whole (i.e., teaching isolated skills and separate academic content). Teachers provide direct instruction to individuals and small groups of children in the skills and concepts needed to complete the projects.

The Reggio Emilia philosophy is a child-centered approach that focuses on the creative use of a carefully developed environment. This environment includes a studio where students—under the expert direction of a staff person with specialized skills—create artistic and scientific cre- ations and projects, entryways and hallways that encourage social inclusion and interactions, a kitchen, meeting/eating spaces, and a deliberate flow of air and people between the inside and outside environments (Gandini, 1993). Classrooms include the traditional learning cen- ters, such as a construction area, art area, dress-up, games, math manipulates, science table, and so on. The curriculum itself is delivered through projects, with the focus on

• use of the studio and staff person who helps with the projects

• self-directed groups of students developing projects

• documentation

In the Reggio Emilia curriculum, there are different kinds of projects: intended projects, envi- ronmental projects, daily life projects, and self-managed projects. Documentation is used for children to reflect on their learning and development, for students to connect and reflect on other children’s work, for teachers and parents to enjoy and reflect on their student’s work, to document student’s growth and development, and to share with the larger community. The Reggio Emilia approach is considered unique for its focus on documentation (Gandini, 1993).

Some early care and education programs use several curricula to address the different needs of their students. For example, the Renaissance Children’s Center in Lakewood, Colorado, which serves children of homeless families, uses High/Scope for its cognitive curriculum, ECE Cares for social and emotional development, and Relationship Roots to help children learn boundaries and conflict resolution skills. However, many home-based/family and small com- munity-based programs have no formal curriculum. They seem to use an organic approach, following the beliefs of the director and individual teachers and responding to the pressure of their parents.

Program Components That Support Secure Attachment

High quality of caregiver interactions with infants and young children is needed. Caregivers must respond to infants and young children in consistent, sensitive, responsive ways. They must provide a goodness-of-fit between the child’s temperament and their response. They must engage with the infant in the “dance of life,” what we call synchrony. This is a rapid, responsive, coordinated interchange of behaviors and responses between an infant and a caregiver. And they must change their interaction patterns and responses as children progress through each of the first three of Erikson’s psychosocial stages (Erikson, 1963).

Young children need a continuity of care to develop secure attachment. Keeping children with the same caregiver seems to develop in them a sense of trust that their caregiver knows and respects their own unique needs, wants, and joys (Raikes, 1993). In this way, the caregiver can learn a child’s unique temperament, feeding style, daily schedule, likes and dislikes, fears, and overall daily rhythms.

Nurturing Secure Attachment in Early Care and Education Programs Chapter 2

Thus, it is critical for a program to have a primary caregiver for infants and young children (Lally et al., 1995). The primary caregiver in the early childhood program is a person with whom infants spend most of their time, rather than having infants cared for by a variety of caregivers. It is advisable that this primary caregiver follow the infant until 36 months of age (Essa, Favre, Thweatt, & Waugh, 1999). Many quality programs move caregivers up as the children grow older. This continuity not only reinforces the important relationships between the caregiver and child, but also enables the caregiver to guide the toddler through the chal- lenging struggles of the first two of Erikson’s stages (Erikson, 1963).

Caregivers who provide consistent, responsive, sensitive care to infants and young children provide an added bonus to the child who has a secure attachment at home. For the child without secure attachment at home, a warm, nurturing relationship with a caregiver is critical. To foster secure attachment, programs should include the additional components listed next (Honig, 2002).

Create a safe emotional climate. For a young child to develop into an active, curious, self- motivated learner who cooperates with caregivers and persists at difficult and challenging tasks, an emotionally safe climate is required (Erikson, 1963). To do so in a child-care setting, every aspect of the programming, particularly routines around diapering, feeding, and sooth- ing for naptime, are critical opportunities to foster secure attachment (see Table 2.1).

Table 2.1 Sample daily planning sheet for toddlers

Monday Early AM Late AM Early PM Late PM

Messy area/water table

Pipe pieces and floating corks

Bubbles in the water

Water and detergent

Large pegs and boards

Sofa area Books—looking at and being read to

Climbing with pillows and wooden planks

Lullabies and reading stories

Bears

Small motor area Lock boards Lock boards Fasteners Fasteners

Vehicles Wagons, wheel barrows with stuffed animals

Riding toys

Table area Finger painting Smelling and textures with teacher

Playhouse Dolls and stuffed animals

Dolls and stuffed animals

Pots and pans and spoons

Pit area Beach balls Juice cans (safe) and poker chips

Soft materials Soft materials

Large motor area Indoor slide/climber Indoor slide/climber Indoor slide/climber Planks

Block area Blocks

Outside Walk and play with teacher

Roll and climb on hill and slide

Greenman, J. (1988). Caring spaces, learning places: Children’s environments that work. Redmond, WA: Exchange Press.

Nurturing Secure Attachment in Early Care and Education Programs Chapter 2

Create a responsive environment. The physical environment must be soft and responsive. Soft pillows, mattresses with washable covers, and areas car- peted with rugs of different textures are all required. These add a sense of cozi- ness and warmth to the environment. A rocking chair (away from the other children) is a great item to help soothe infants. Comfortable beanbags add to warmth and softness. Fresh flowers and green plants, colorful banners, and a cozy reading area give children the mes- sage that they can relax and enjoy a book or play with a toy. A private, fabric-lined cubby for each child provides a needed private space.

The outside playground should also have a warm, shaded area, where caregivers can sit on comfortable benches, carefully watching infants and toddlers enjoy the outdoors, crawl on gently sloped grass mounds, and play in the sand and water.

Develop love for the child. The development of secure attachment requires a special bond between the caregiver and child. Caregivers need to enjoy being with the child and develop a deep sense of love for the child. As we have discussed throughout this chapter, this can be difficult to achieve with a child who has a difficult temperament or fragile medi- cal issues.

Treat babies and young children with respect. Caregivers need to respond to children in their care as special and well-loved people, use their names frequently, speak in a calm voice, and respond respectfully to difficult and confusing behaviors. Also, caregivers need to let the child know when they need to leave, and then when they return. While infants do not understand these words, body language and the tone of voice communicates respect for the child.

Support the efforts of infants and young children. Young children need sensitive, unob- trusive help and support for their sincere efforts. Instead of pointing out their mistakes, the adult should provide encouraging words and an occasional physical assist. It is a matter of following the child’s initiative and interests, and helping them when needed.

Respond to the child’s sensitive body language. Bodily cues from an infant or small child can help caregivers know their needs and their temperament. The caregiver should become extremely familiar with these nonverbal cues and respond sensitively to the child’s needs. This is particularly true for the difficult and slow-to-warm child, whose cues may initially cause the adult to be defensive and cold. Children who appear tense, stressed, distant, aggressive, or hyper-vigilant may need special care and attention. (See Think About It: How Do You Know the Child Trusts You? for more information.)

▲ Crafting a soft and responsive environment is instrumental in ensuring children feel safe and nurtured in the early childhood education setting.

Nurturing Secure Attachment in Early Care and Education Programs Chapter 2

The Role of Professional Caregivers

Because caregivers can affect the development of attachment in the children they work with, it is critical that they consistently demonstrate the behaviors that enhance secure attachment. One of the main reasons caregivers must attend college classes and training sessions to gain certificates and degrees is so they can obtain important knowledge of child development and skills for working with young children. However, these classes do not address issues of stress and mental and physical illness. It is well documented that in the United States, people who care for and teach young children are poorly compensated (Neugebauer, 2004). Many do not have adequate health insurance and health care. And, because of the low pay and benefits they receive, many child-care providers and teachers live in poverty, putting them at higher risk for stress than if they received better compensation (Neugebauer, 2004). As a result, the continuity of care that is critically needed to develop and foster secure attachment may be jeopardized.

Collaboration Between the Program and the Family

The positive connections and collaborations between families and their early care and education programs fall under the mesosystem category of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory. This context includes various ways dimensions of the microsystems work together to affect the development and education of the child, in this case ways the family and program work together for the benefit of the child (Bronfenbrenner, 1979, 1995; Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1998).

When we discussed fostering attachment in the early care and education program, consistency and continuity were viewed as critical elements. For the same reason, consistency and con- tinuity between the family and program are also critical for developing and fostering secure

T H I N K A B O U T I T :

How Do You Know the Child Trusts You?

Indicators that secure attachment is being fostered between the caregiver and child includes situa- tions when the child does the following:

• smiles with pleasure when you greet him or her or admire his or her accomplishments

• calls to get your attention

• is relaxed and calm when you hold him or her

• looks up on occasion to check that you are still there when playing across the room

• becomes stressed when he or she cannot see you

• comfortably turns for help in difficult or stressful situations

• calms down as a result of your reassuring touch and words

• is cooperative when you ask him or her to do something

• talks truthfully about bad as well as good things

• likes to play verbal and nonverbal games with you, like blowing bubbles and babbling back and forth

• responds to your smiles and other facial expressions in kind (Honig, 2002)

Nurturing Secure Attachment in Early Care and Education Programs Chapter 2

attachment in children. To create and maintain this consistency and continuity, two-way communication is essential. As was mentioned in Chapter 1, two- way communication between the home and pro- gram begins with respect and willingness to work together for the good of the child. A program can enhance two-way communication through the fol- lowing strategies.

Use initial registration forms. On these forms, information can be collected about the child (temper- ament, likes and dislikes, food preferences) and con- cerns parents have regarding the care of their child. The form should convey to parents an interest in their views, concerns, and aspirations for their child.

Focus on the initial contact between the pro- gram and parent. As we are well aware, first impressions are critical. At the initial interview between the parent and program representa- tive, information about the child, the child’s behavior and temperament, and the parents’ wishes for the child need to be discussed. The program representative must also clearly com- municate to the parent the program’s philosophy and rules, regulations, and expectations, both for the child and for the parent.

Provide parent bulletin boards. Each classroom should have a parent bulletin board close to the classroom door. On this board, pertinent information should be posted. The tone of the board should be user-friendly, and it should convey the program’s sincere interest in parents’ concerns and points of view.

Establish and maintain an open climate of the center and classroom. Many centers tell parents they are welcome to visit at any time. But are they? When parents visit, are they wel- comed with a smile and a kind word, or a shrug and the impression that they are being intru- sive? What about fathers, grandfathers, boyfriends, and others who are part of the child’s extended family and wish to be involved with the child’s care? Are they welcome also?

Set up a parent library. For infant programs, the parent library should focus on infant devel- opment, breastfeeding, attachment, parenting skills, and awareness of cultural diversity.

Provide information on community agencies. One of the responsibilities of a family- centered care and education program is to connect parents with agencies that support them. This can be achieved in a variety of ways, from presenting posters and informational material in the center or home, to inviting representatives of various agencies to give presentations at parent meetings (and even providing seminars and programs for parenting and staff training). Programs with a website should provide links to community agencies and services.

Support mothers who are breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is one of the most obvious behaviors a mother can engage in to enhance secure attachment. Thus, the program should encourage and support mothers who breastfeed. Does the program provide a private room where mothers can breastfeed? Does it provide a place where pumped breast milk can be stored (and not with hazardous materials)? Does it encourage mothers to provide pumped breast milk to be given to their infants? Is there a feeling that mothers who breastfeed or provide pumped breast milk are welcome, or is this seen as an intrusion or an inconvenience?

▲ It is important for caregivers to complete formal training so that they are adequately equipped with the knowledge of how to foster healthy cognitive and social development of children.

Nurturing Secure Attachment in Early Care and Education Programs Chapter 2

Provide parent training. Parent training is an excellent way for programs to communicate to parents a variety of ways to support and to increase secure attachment. How does the program decide on topics to be covered in these trainings? Do parents have input in the decisions?

Clearly and accurately communicate to parents the program’s philosophy. Early care and education programs should develop a clear philosophy. Once this philosophy is in place, it needs to be communicated clearly and consistently to all parents and other caregivers. By doing so, confusion and disagreements will be minimized, and two-way communication enhanced. The program’s philosophy should be revised on a regular basis (annually), with input provided from all stakeholders, including parents and other caregivers.

Provide direct, continuous communication about the child and the needs of the child to parents and other caregivers. Because the child is at the center of attachment, parent- program communication must focus on the child. Program staff should provide formal and informal opportunities to communicate with parents. Staff members need to make sure that the communication is two-way: from the parent to the caregivers and from the caregivers to the parents. (See Think About It: Guidelines for Two-Way Communication for more on this topic.) Further, the caregiver must make sure not to focus the discussion just on challenges and concerns, but also to let parents know how much they enjoy caring for their infant or young child. This is also true for a difficult child or a child with a developmental delay.

Provide communication in different languages. One of the central challenges for effec- tive communication in many programs is parents who do not speak English (Administration for Children and Families, Head Start Office, 2010). Efforts must be made to find some-

one—in the community, center, local college, or elsewhere— who can help translate both written and verbal communication. Obviously, the language to be translated depends on the com- munity and the school. Programs should also consider setting up classes to help parents learn English, either at the center or somewhere in the community. Many non-English speaking par- ents want to learn English, partly so they can communicate with the program’s staff, and also so that they can help their children as they move into a regular school and need support with their schoolwork.

Carefully examine parent/teacher conferences. Parent/ teacher conferences are the traditional place for parent-program communication to occur. However, these cannot be stand-alone events; they need to be part of a comprehensive communication approach. As with all communication between parents and staff, it needs to be two-way and include positive aspects of the child and the child’s behavior. Conferences that focus on negative behaviors and other challenges are unproductive, for many reasons.

Communicate to parents about special needs of infants and young children. In the next chapter, we will discuss in detail issues families and programs must address around developmental delays. Here, it is important to listen to parents’ concerns, to con- nect parents with community resources, and to make sure that parents talk to whoever is responsible in the program for working with children who have developmental delays.

▲ Parents and teachers must not communicate only when there is a problem with the child. Effective communication must be frequent, include positive observations, and be a two-way conversation.

Use of Community Resources to Support Attachment Chapter 2

Speak with parents about diversity concerns. As early childhood programs become increasingly diverse, parents and other family members need to be involved in addressing relevant issues. For example, do parents have any concerns related to how they want their child’s racial and ethnic identity to be supported in the program? Do they speak a language other than English at home, and do they want their child using this language or English in the program? Are there food issues that the program should be aware of? It is important not to make assumptions about the family, but to provide a context in which the family can speak openly about sensitive topics if they wish to do so.

2.5 Use of Community Resources to Support Attachment There are many agencies, organizations, websites, and other resources that parents can use to help them support the development of secure attachment in their children and to provide information and resources for programs to continue to support this effort. A list of specific resources, agencies, and websites is included at the end of this chapter.

Resources for Families

There are many community programs that serve infants. Some communities provide Early Head Start, a parent’s workplace may provide infant care, and some religious programs also

T H I N K A B O U T I T :

Guidelines for Two-Way Communication

• Establish contact on many levels. Learn parents’ names and important information about the parents and other family members involved with the children.

• Work to establish trust. Parents need to be able to trust teachers and the program. Be clear about rules and regulations, communicate them clearly and regularly, and be consistent with their implementation. Do not go back on your word, and do not play favorites with certain parents.

• Develop an appreciation and respect for every parent and other adults involved with the child. Take time to listen, do not just communicate with one parent or caretaker (e.g., just the mother or grandmother), and appreciate parents’ issues and concerns.

• Establish open communication. Find ways to openly, but not judgmentally, communicate with parents and others involved in raising the child. Be careful in communicating about negative issues, from behavioral challenges to possible developmental delays. Some parents will punish children's negative behaviors when they get home; others will be defensive about what they per- ceive as criticisms of their children (and maybe even of themselves).

• Jointly identify and implement goals for the child. Work with parents as you develop goals for their child, and make sure most of the goals are a) positive and b) achievable in a short time period.

• In discussing problem behaviors, focus on a concern for the child’s welfare. Provide clear, descriptive language and a desire to help the child. Again, also present the message embedded within a larger view of the child’s overall positive characteristics and behaviors. (Sailor, 2004)

Use of Community Resources to Support Attachment Chapter 2

provide infant care. Some of the traditional options, such as Waldorf, Montessori, and British Infant/Primary programs, also offer infant care. Many parents prefer family-based care for their infants, especially if they can find a provider who speaks their language (if it is not English) and if they have odd or difficult work hours. Local federal child-care offices and state agencies may have programs that provide financial assistance to qualifying parents who are seeking child care.

Most communities provide programs for families that need food. Women, Infants and Children (WIC) is a federal program targeted to women with infants. Food banks and com- munity food programs abound, and many urban areas are also developing urban vegetable gardens. Some families buy shares in local farms and gardens, and farmers markets exist in many communities during the summer through the fall.

Mothers who need assistance breastfeeding can find a variety of programs. Many hospi- tals and health centers provide assistance. La Leche League has a website and local support groups, and there are support groups on the Internet and in many local communities.

Parenting classes are offered at many venues. Hospitals, community colleges, and even some high schools offer parenting classes, as do adoption and foster agencies (i.e., local county gov- ernment departments). There are, of course, a plethora of parenting books and online sites available. Parents who want a spiritually focused approach should check with their church or house of worship. Many early childhood programs provide parenting classes or can refer parents to community programs.

Early Care and Education Staff Development and Training

Local community colleges and four-year institutions provide a variety of programs for teach- ers and caregivers. A number of state and local agencies offer training required by the state’s licensing departments, such as Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). Many early childhood programs are loosely connected to larger organizations: religious groups and the associa- tions of early childhood programs associated with these groups (e.g., Catholic, Lutheran, or Jewish), associations of family providers, and state and local Head Start and Early Head Start associations. Most of these organizations provide conferences on a regular basis that staff can access. Then there are the state affiliations of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) that have annual conferences. Many communities also have experts in a variety of areas, from discipline and behavior issues, to diversity and manage- ment training.

Finally, programs can use hospitals, community agencies, and government programs that specialize in specific child development and parenting issues, including specific developmental delays (e.g., sensory integration and autism spectrum disorder), nutrition, classroom manage- ment, and parenting skills and parent involvement.

Chapter Summary Chapter 2

Chapter Summary Attachment Theory

• Attachment theory was developed by John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth.

• There are four types of attachment: secure attachment, insecure-avoidant attachment, insecure-resistant/ambivalent attachment, and disoriented/disorganized attachment.

• An infant exhibits certain behaviors that create a primary attachment relationship with his or her mother or another caregiver.

• A child’s temperament and the development of attachment are closely related.

The Parent’s and Teacher’s Roles in Each of Erikson’s Stages

• The parent’s and teacher’s role in supporting the child's development of trust is critical.

• The parent’s and teacher’s role in supporting the child’s healthy sense of autonomy is critical.

• The parent’s and teacher’s role in supporting the child’s sense of initiative is critical.

Attachment and Cultural Diversity

• Attachment of an infant to a caregiver occurs within a cultural context.

• Culture is difficult to define, dynamic, and constantly changing. Differences between cultural contexts should be viewed as complex similarities and differences.

• Most children across all cultures are securely attached.

• The view of what constitutes secure and insecure attachment differs across cultures.

Nurturing Secure Attachment in Early Care and Education Programs

• There is a great diversity of early care and education programs.

• Early care and education programs implement a variety of curricula.

• Several specific components of programs support the healthy development of attach- ment: high-quality interactions between caregivers and infants; continuity of care provided by a primary caregiver; and consistent, responsive care.

• Collaboration between a program and family is critical for the development of attachment.

Use of Community Resources to Support Attachment

• There are many community resources that directly serve the needs of families.

• A variety of community resources can be used to train and educate the staff of the early care and education program.

Key Terms Chapter 2

Key Terms acculturation Changes that take place as individuals come into contact with people from other cultures.

attachment theory The view that attachment is a critical model that sets the stage for healthy development.

co-sleeping Children sleeping in the same room as their parents, often in a bassinet or crib next to the parents’ bed or in the same bed. See family bed.

culture The way individuals view the world, acquired by belonging to various groups; it is a complex and dynamic association with one’s world and other individuals.

difficult temperament Describes a child who displays irregular biological functioning (e.g., is very difficult to get to sleep at night, or eats at different times of the day) and nega- tive and often intense responses to new situations and to any kind of change.

disoriented/disorganized attachment An attachment relationship in which infants dis- play conflicting behaviors, both when their mother leaves and when she returns.

easy temperament Describes a child who has regular sleep and feeding schedules, enjoys new situations and challenges, and is generally happy.

family bed A practice in which infants and young children sleep in the same bed as their parents.

goodness-of-fit The ability to match the physical and emotional environment to the unique temperament of each individual child.

insecure-avoidant attachment An attachment relationship in which the infant avoids connection with the caregiver, as when the infant does not seem to care about the care- giver’s presence, absence, or departure.

insecure-resistant/ambivalent attachment An attachment relationship between the infant and caregiver characterized by inconsistent reactions to the caregiver’s leaving and return.

internal working model The self-view a child develops through the attachment process. For example, a rejected child may begin to see himself or herself as a victim, as someone whom others do not love or care for.

multicultural Providing a variety of cultural perspectives; a society in which people from many different cultures function and reside equally.

New York Longitudinal Study A study, begun in the 1950s and conducted by Thomas and Chess, that recognized infants are born with distinctive temperaments.

primary attachment relationship Infants attach to a significant adult in the child’s life. This adult is usually the mother, but not always.

primary caregiver A term used to designate the main person who takes care of an infant or young child in an early care or education setting. This person may move up with the child as the child moves into different age groups.

Key Terms Chapter 2

secure attachment An attachment relationship in which infants mildly protest when their mother leaves, but then actively seek reunion with their mother when she returns. The securely attached infant then goes back to exploring and playing, using his or her mother as a strong psychological base.

slow-to-warm temperament Describes a child who is somewhat irregular in his or her biological functions, exhibits a negative response to new stimuli, and adapts slowly to change.

Strange Situation An experiment by Mary Ainsworth, in which she observed infants, aged 12 to 18 months old, their mother, and a stranger. Based on the infant’s behavior with the mother, the nature of the attachment is determined.

synchrony The rapid, responsive, coordinated interchange of behaviors and responses between an infant and caregiver; a responsive “dance.”

temperament Behavioral and emotional dimensions of a young child that develop early in childhood and form the basis for later personality.

Women, Infants and Children (WIC) A federal program that provides healthy and nutri- tious food to low-income mothers of young children.