The Importance Of Childhood Attachment
Child attachment plays a fundamental role in parenting and that is why it is very important, among other factors, to know what attachment is and its influence on mental and emotional health.
What is child attachment?
Childhood attachment, as well as its importance, can be defined in many ways, and we may all recognize when we are dealing with the experience of attachment. Attachment is felt, perceived, and even glimpsed.
Even so, it is essential to be objective and define it as the relationship we establish with the people with whom we build an affective bond, and especially with the first organizers of those bonds: the mother, the father and the close family.
The Importance of Childhood Attachment: Why Talk About It?
In addition to talking about attachment and its importance for good development, it is essential to practice it, since attachment is good for building and consolidating a relationship. However, the benefits are not just there, but are observed throughout life.
To build a good attachment or not, is that the question?
There are signs that allow us to infer when we are facing a satisfactory attachment that, as such, it is important for good development.
So are there different types of attachment?
Indeed, there are and, thus, the Argentine Society of Pediatrics highlights the attachment for good development as “the strong affective bond that we feel for special people in our life that when we interact with them leads us to feel pleasure, joy and relief in stressful situations”.
Additionally, members of the same Scientific Society point out, around the question regarding how to support feelings of trust, the importance of “responding quickly to the child’s signals, expressing positive emotions and taking the child with tenderness and care”, which helps build a sense of trust that your parents will care for and protect you whenever you need it.
Additional data on the importance of childhood attachment
Likewise, from the Chilean Society of Pediatrics, SOCHIPE, it is emphasized that attachments are safe or insecure. According to the same source of information, “secure type attachments
are related to healthy, happier children who become healthy adults, while anxious and disorganized type attachments are more related to developmental disorders, abuse and neglect towards children”.
Relationship between attachment and breastfeeding
The relationship between attachment and breastfeeding has been sufficiently studied. Although it goes without saying the benefits that it offers, in case for different reasons the bottle with non-breast milk is used, the attachment can also occur as long as there is a harmonious, empathetic and loving interaction, through eye contact, physical and emotional with the baby
summarizing
- Attachment is essential for the baby.
- The psychoanalyst John Bowlby affirms that “there are different types of attachment depending on the trust and affection established between the child and his parents . ” Thus, according to the aforementioned professional, one can speak of four types of attachment : avoidant, secure, ambivalent or resistant, and disorganized or disoriented.
Finally
It is of interest to promote secure attachment from national and local Public Policies, which is what, in a certain way, guarantees that the child feels loved and cared for. Thus, as he grows, he manages to develop a good concept of himself and others. In addition, by maintaining this emotional relationship, future physical and mental health problems can be prevented.
Insecure attachment can occur in a child who has felt rejected by his parents and, in particular, when, for different reasons, the parents have not known or have not been able to be emotionally available to attend to the needs of their children.
