Attachment Theory and Children
Attachment theory (Bowlby 1969, 1973, 1980) is rooted in the ethological notion that a newborn child is biologically programmed to seek proximity with caregivers, and this proximity-seeking behavior is naturally selected. Through repeated attempts to seek physical and emotional closeness with a caregiver and the responses the child gets, the child develops an internal working model (IWM) of the self and others that reflects the response of the caregiver to the child. According to Bowlby, attachment provides a secure base from which the child can explore the environment, a haven of safety to which the child can return when he or she is afraid or fearful.
Before the age of five, children are most susceptible to becoming affected by various internal and external factors. For example, if children are not receiving enough attention from parents at a young age, they will be more prone to certain behavioral patterns later in life. If parents are over-bearing and too affectionate towards their infants and children before the age of five, those children will be more prone to complete opposite behavior patterns later in life. The reasoning behind this is that children's brains and cognitive processes are not fully developed until age five and can still be molded based on environmental factors.
Read more about this topic: Attachment In Children
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