Attachment in Early Childhood Education

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Human Growth and Development
Introduction
Attachment is an emotional bond that exists between a child and a parent .Attachments make a
child always want to be around their caregivers because of the feeling of security as well as
comfort that is brought about by their caregivers (Gallarin & Itziar,90).Attachment is very
essential for the child as well as the parent. First and foremost attachments comprise of a really
important milestone in the development of a child tends to help the child in the regulation of
their negative and painful emotions in times of distress. It facilitates the development of the child
in all possible dimensions; cognitively, physically and emotionally.
This write-up is going to explore the issue of attachment in early childhood education. In doing
so the Attachment theory by a British psychologist John Bowlby will be discussed. The various
stages of attachment will be mentioned, factors that influence attachment, patterns in attachment,
challenges, and problems associated with attachment as well as some of the reasons as to why
attachment is really important in an individual’s life (Spangler & Peter, 45)
Attachment theory
A British psychologist John Bowlby is known to be among the first attachment theorists.
According to him, he described attachment as a lasting psychological connection between human

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beings. He developed this particular theory while he was investigating the separation anxiety as
well as the distress that children often experience in their early stages in life especially in cases
when they happen to be separated from their parents and/or primary caregivers (Kochanska &
Kim. 301).Earlier theories suggested that attachment is usually a learned behavior and in some
cases, it can even originate from simple actions and activities such as feeding relationships
between the child and the caregiver. When John Bowlby looked into the matter he found that
feeding patterns and habits between the child and the caregiver have no meaningful impact as
long as an attachment between the child and the caregiver are concerned (Madigan et al, 89).
What found out was that attachment is an aspect that is quite dynamic and is characterized by
various behavioral and motivation patterns. For instance, when children are frightened and/or
terrified they tend to seek closure and proximity to their primary caregivers in search of comfort
and security.
Bowlby theorized that the attachments (early bonds that a child forms with their primary
caregivers) have a very meaningful impact that is likely to continue throughout the life of an
individual. Attachment is a very important tool as it keeps a child closer to their parents and/or
primary caregivers especially a mother as much as possible and in that way increasing a child’s
chance for survival (Spangler & Peter, 85). This is in accordance with various studies conducted
that indicate that children who are in a position to maintain a proximity to a relevant attachment
figure have a high probability to survive to adulthood. This is attributed to the comfort and
protection that they get from their caregivers (Pallini et al, 102).
Unlike other theorists, John Bowlby viewed attachment more of a product of an evolutionary
process. Most of the behavioral theories suggested that attachment was more of a learned process
and something that could be passed from the mother to the child. Well, Bowlby had a totally

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different view on this. According to him, he suggested that children are usually born with an
internal initiative to bond and form attachments with their parents and/or caregivers (Cortazar &
Herreros, 29).
Attachment stages
Attachment stages are the steps that children follow as they develop an attachment to their
caregivers. Schaffer and Emerson carried out a study to determine the preliminary stages that a
child undergoes before they develop complete attachments to their caregivers. After conducting a
long study on 60 infants they suggested that the following stages are involved and are also
regarded as the distinct phases of attachment.
Pre-attachment stage-This is the first stage in the attachment cycle. It usually occurs between the
ages of zero to three months. During this stage, there is no any tangible attachment that an infant
demonstrates to their caregivers but rather it's the infant's natural behavior patterns such as
crying and fussing that attracts the caregiver to the child (Chopik, Edelstein, Fraley, 336).
Indiscriminate attachment-This usually happens to form the age of about six weeks to seven
months. At this stage, infants begin to show preference and liking for both their primary as well
as secondary caregivers (Del & Belsky, 34). This stage is often characterized by the infant
developing feelings of trust to their caregivers in regard to a response to some of their immediate
needs. Despite the fact that they will tolerate and accept care from other individuals, children at
this stage often master the art of distinguishing familiar and unfamiliar people. They respond
more positively to the primary caregiver than any other person.
Discriminate attachment-This picks up from seven to about eleven months. As the name
suggests, at this particular stage infants show preference to one specific individual. This stage is