Essay
Childhood
- Module
- E102
- Institution
- The Open University (OU)
Essay of 9 pages for the course E102 at OU (Z)
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Farnaaz Munshi personal identifier: Z0311759 TMA02Part 1. A) Describe and explain how caregivers’ sensitivity to infants’ (1)
care needs and (2) play needs may have an influence on secure
attachment.
Early social relationships are very crucial for the development between the infant and
the caregiver. Caregivers can be people that are close to the infant like family and for
some children if can be foster carers or childminders which is important in ensuring
that the child has a healthy development. In order to have this healthy social and
emotional development infants need to form secure attachments, this is when an
infant views the primary caregiver as a safe and permanent base to return to in times
of distress. To care for the infant’s distress these caregivers must be sensitive to the
infant’s needs. {103 words}
The caregiver’s sensitivity to care needs refers typically to the mother’s ability to
respond to what the infant requires. For example, when an infant cries the caregiver
has a strong emotional response to give the child either physical comfort, food, a
change of nappy or warmth (Gerhardt, 2006, cited in Farrington-Flint, 2020). This
happens when a child is also calm and happy, a caregiver’s emotional response
would be calm and happy. Both infant and mother model each other’s behaviour and
facial expressions as a form of communication thus creating a sure attachment. The
use of ‘parentese’ or ‘motherese’(Bornstein, 2013, cited in..) helps the caregiver to
establish a better communication system, where the infant is responding to the facial
expressions of its mother and the mother is able to recognise the behavioural cues in
the infant. This increases the sensitivity of the mother regarding the infant’s care
needs. For the infant to develop adequate social relationships the caregiver must be
active in dyadic interactions. These interactions are times of alertness as both mum
and baby are smiling, being vocal, and touching one another as a way to strengthen
the bond between them and the sensitivity of the caregiver (Bornstein, 2013). {186
words}
The caregiver’s sensitivity to play needs refers to the mother’s ability to provide a
secure base that the infant is able to return to for example, on a playground
surrounded by infants. This is evident in the study by Mary Ainsworth and colleagues
(Mary Ainsworth and colleagues, 1978, cited in .. ) that assessed the attachment
type of a child by placing the child in a series of situations. These consisted of the
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, Farnaaz Munshi personal identifier: Z0311759 TMA02
child being separated from the mother and left with a stranger, and then being
reunited with the mother after some time alone with the stranger. The child’s reaction
was assessed, and results concluded that the child was either securely or insecurely
attached. So if the child cried and experienced some form of separation anxiety this
meant that the caregiver was successful in forming a deep emotional bond and was
sensitive to what the child needed (John Bowlby, 1969). However, if the child
showed no reaction to the caregiver leaving the room, this meant that there is an
insecure attachment type present. {162 words}
Regarding the effect of secure and insecure attachment types, the caregiver’s
sensitivity is crucial in the social and emotional development of the child as this will
affect the child later in life. Secure attachment means that the child has a healthy
bond with the caregiver and will respond in an appropriate way if separated from the
caregiver. For example, an appropriate reaction would be to cry or seem visibly
upset when the caregiver is no longer in sight. This will cause the child to become
distressed and therefore caregiver’s initial reaction should be to comfort the child.
This shows the quality of a higher level of sensitivity when the caregiver provides
comfort to the child because of the emotional bond that has been created and
maintained ( Schieffelin and Ochs, 1986). This kind of secure attachment provides a
more stable and independent life for the child as they get older, such as creating
meaningful and successful social relationships with others and themselves. On the
other hand, if the caregiver is unsuccessful in being sensitive to the infant’s needs,
such as not responding when the infant cries, not providing comfort with physical
touch and not engaging in ‘parentese’, this will create an insecure attachment. This
attachment type means that the infant will be affected later on in life, for example, by
engaging in anti-social behaviour like aggression towards others. It is evident that a
caregiver’s sensitivity is dire in early social development in an infant’s life. {241
words}
{692 words}
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