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Supporting babies and toddlers
Supporting babies and toddlers

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1 Why relationships matter: attachment

Babies’ earliest relationships have a lifelong influence. You might have heard people say things like ‘She is very attached to her dad’ or ‘His mum had a few difficulties bonding with him when he was born’. These ideas of attachment and bonding have become a part of everyday discussions about babies and children. Attachment is the connection created between a baby and their primary caregiver, which is usually their mother.

Understanding of the importance of attachment emerged from work done by John Bowlby in the mid-twentieth century which indicated that the emotional bond between the baby and their mother was the foundation for their future social and emotional development and wellbeing (Bowlby, 1952).

The fact that Bowlby’s work only looked at the mother/baby relationship has been criticised in more recent times as families have become more diverse, and this has highlighted that other caregivers, such as fathers, foster carers, adoptive parents and same-sex parents have an equally critical role to play in attachment (Glazzard, Potter & Stones, 2019).

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Figure 2 Families have become more diverse
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A baby is sitting in the doorway of an indoor tepee. There is a smiling man inside the tepee holding the baby up and another man is kneeling outside the doorway peeping inside. The baby is looking at the man and laughing.

Figure 2 Families have become more diverse

In 1978, Mary Ainsworth and her colleagues built upon Bowlby’s work by identifying different types of attachment. They devised an experiment called the ‘strange situation’ where they observed the reactions of a child as a series of events take place (illustrated below).

Ainsworth’s ‘strange situation’ experiment

Figure 3 ‘Strange situation’ experiment
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This is a series of illustrated images demonstrating the ‘strange situation’ experiment. The text at the bottom of the first slide reads: Step 1 + 2, Mother and child enter the room. Mother sits and the child plays with toys in the room. The second slide reads: Step 3 + 4, Stranger enters and talks to mother before interacting with the child and initiating play. Mother then leaves. The third slide reads: Step 5, Mother returns and stranger leaves. The fourth slide reads: Step 6, Mother leaves again. Leaving child alone. The fifth slide reads: Step 7, Stranger returns, interacts with child and offers comfort. The sixth slide reads: Step 8, Mother returns and stranger leaves.

Figure 3 ‘Strange situation’ experiment
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From the observations of the child’s reactions and behaviour at the different points in the experiment, Ainsworth and her team identified different types of attachment. Click on the types of attachment to find out more about each one.

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If children do not have a secure attachment, their ideas and understanding of how relationships work is confused, and this can reduce the chances of them developing positive and supportive connections with other people. Poor attachments can also affect how children see and value themselves. Babies and young children who feel secure are more likely to explore and investigate, as they are confident that their ‘special’ person(s) or attachment figure(s) will protect them and help them to negotiate new situations and experiences. Feeling secure helps children to trust others, and builds their confidence and empathy.