Module 3 Assignment 1 Nuturing a Child's Attachment

Nurturing a Child’s Attachment

Children are constantly growing and changing. It is important that families, mainly parents, understand how important their role is in a child’s life in building relationships and forming healthy attachments. Parents play the central role in their children’s growth and development. It is important to understand how a child’s attachment early in life has an impact on their social and emotional development and learning. Which is mainly about understanding how early bonds with parental figures affect a child’s behavior. Nurturing a child is essential and vital to his or her healthy development and growth. Essential ingredients for improving a child’s everyday life are that adults must: encourage children to explore; show them basic skills; praise their accomplishments; help them practice and expand their skills; protect them from disapproval, teasing, or punishment; surround them with rich and responsive language environment (“National Centre for Excellence in Residential Child Care”).  Children who form secure attachments in infancy have better advantages when it comes to their emotional, social, and academic development. As noted in Music (2011): “A child who is secure at a year is likely to have attachments in most cultures studied, such as being less likely to fight with peers, being more able to play creatively, having good skills at understanding their own and others minds having a better developed sense of their own agency, and being better able to regulate their own emotions” (p.70).  This explains why some children may struggle with social connections with adults and peers and others form social bonds easily.

As educators, it is important that we make sure that parents know how important their role is as a parent and caregiver and what their attachment or non-attachment can mean for a child in their care. The absence of such a figure can do more psychological harm than good to a growing and developing child. Children need to have a support system to feel they can be successful inside and outside of the school environment. Often, the teacher becomes that maternal figure for many children who lack the love outside of school needed to form an attachment. For example, if a student does not have a bond with his or her mother, he or she can easily misbehave with a teacher who shows no affection but grows tremendously with another who fills the role of a mother. There is still much controversy on how influential early attachments are across a lifespan as well as exactly how attachments are transmitted from mother to child. However, research shows that having someone around who can make sense of one’s feelings, hopes, and intentions makes a big difference (Music, 2011).   A child’s need to have an attachment to a mother figure in order to feel secure and to develop healthily both mentally and socially.     

Ultimately, my goal is to inform and educate parents and encourage them to be involved in their child’s life and educational experience. Why is parental involvement so important? Parents are often the first line of defense when it comes to their child’s education, and it is important that they are part of his or her school experience from kindergarten through college. Parental involvement is especially important at the early stages of children’s education because when they are younger, parents are their best advocate. Often, children do not have the life experiences to know what a quality education means for their future.

Parental involvement not only benefits the child but also the parent. Some of the benefits include better relationships with children, a better understanding of the child’s education, and increased confidence in the educational system. The benefits to a child far outweigh the negative implications such as increased self-confidence, feelings of support, increased achievement, and positive behaviors and attitudes toward school that continue through adulthood (Desforges, 2003). There is a positive relation between parental involvement in education and achievement (Kim, 2015).  Ultimately, my goal is that this message have positive, lasting impact on families and encourages them to be active and present in their child’s life.

References

Desforges, C., & Abouchaar, A. (2003). The impact of parental involvement, parental support and family education on pupil achievement and adjustment a literature review. Annesley, Nottingham: DfES Publications.

Kim, S. w., & Hill, N. E. (2015). Including Fathers in the Picture: A Meta-Analysis of Parental Involvement and Students' Academic Achievement. Journal Of Educational Psychology, 107(4), 919-934.

Music, G. (2011). Nurturing natures. East Sussex, NJ: Psychology Press

National Centre for Excellence in Residential Child Care. (n.d.). Attachment and neuroscience, 1–9. Retrieved from http://www.ncb.org.uk/media/517494/ncercc_neuroscienceattachment.pdf