By Lexie Dare
In a study published by Harvard University, researchers looked at the development of children and how their relationships with those around them help their development and shape their future. “Young children experience their world as an environment of relationships, and these relationships affect virtually all aspects of their development – intellectual, social, emotional, physical, behavioral, and moral.”
Relationships are important because the human to human contact helps children realize their worth and why they matter. Relationships help children to see that they are loved and cared about and allow them to see their full potential within themselves.
Attachment is necessary from the very beginning of a child’s life. Having a nurturing and stable adult relationship assists the growth of many competencies such as social skills, emotional understanding, relationships later in life, and more. As adults, we respond to children’s behavior in a way that teaches them right from wrong. Children are learning even as babies when they learn to recognize mom and learn to reach for things that they want such as a bottle or a person. They way that adults interact with children and that stability of the home environment greatly affects the child’s developmental abilities.
Relationships with adults is not the only important relationship. Children must learn the value of having friendships. With friendships comes a sense of caring, sharing, and social awareness. Children need to make friends and be around other children so that they are more adaptable. Some children are more shy, some are more outgoing. When children are around all different types of children, they learn how to better understand and read situations. They learn that approaching the shy child looks different than the more boisterous child.
A common misconception is that children need adults at different phases of life. However, they need adults that are consistent throughout their lives. Constantly attaching, detaching, and reattaching is hard on a child. Children need a consistent person in the parental guardian role, however changes in caregivers such as teachers and babysitters does not affect children as negatively.
Unfortunately, America is falling behind other countries when it comes to maternity and paternity leave. Employers are required by law to give at least 3 months, however that is unpaid and not all employees qualify for such a policy. Other countries, such as Canada, parents can take 15 weeks paid, and up to 35 weeks at 55% of their usual pay. Parental leave policies are negatively affecting the way children are able to attach to their parents because parents cannot afford to take the proper time off of work to connect and care for their children.
What are your thoughts on how Americans can improve leave options? Have you seen a positive or negative side effect of attachment?
Here is the article discussed on today’s blog: