Attachment – how does it work?
How to create a warm and secure attachment relationship with baby, and why it is vitally important.
Learning goals
- Understand what attachment is and why it's important.
- Be able to recognise the difference between secure and insecure attachment.
Background
What is attachment and how does it happen?
‘Attachment’ describes the first relationship a newborn has with their primary caregiver. Attachment develops in the first 2 years when babies are responded to and gently touched and nurtured.
- A child who experiences positive, attentive, warm relationships with close people in the early years is learning to trust the world. It helps them build a strong foundation in their brain for all their future learning and relationships.
- The converse is also true – negative, inconsistent or harsh treatment in the early years will influence the brain’s permanent structures and functions. The brains of children with secure attachment are wired differently to those with insecure attachment.
- A baby’s experiences of love, trust and stimulation, and where their primary relationship is treated as the highest priority, will wire up a brain that will serve them well for the rest of their life.
- A secure attachment is a key protective factor that is likely to positively influence a child’s life outcomes.
- When whānau create consistent, warm, loving relationships with their children, other aspects of parenting will go much better.
Workshop materials
- Pens and paper
- Chart paper or whiteboard
Resources
Tākai Whakatipu booklets(external link) – ‘Te hinengaro mīharo’ sections
Brainwave Trust Articles (external link)- filter by 'early years'
The early years last forever pamphlet(external link)