Article Link: http://stage.exchangepress.com/article/reducing-infants-separation-anxiety-with-family-friendly-child-care-practices/5020454/
All babies need nurturing and responsive people to care for them, to keep them safe, and to support their developmental needs. Infants are able to form secure attachments when their early relationships are nurturing, responsive, individualized, and predictable. This ability to form attachments prepares them to create healthy relationships in the future and facilitates life-long learning.Attachment
Infants learn about the world and themselves from their primary influence, their parents. The pattern of parent-infant interactions creates a connection or ‘attachment’ between infant and parent that allows the infant to feel safe and to develop the confidence to explore and learn. A secure attachment in the first year of life is essential for infants’ early brain development and has a positive effect on infants’ social, emotional, and cognitive growth.
The U.S. Census Bureau, 2006-2008 American Community Survey (U.S. Census Bureau, 2009) reports that 58% of mothers of children under the age of one are in the workforce. When parents work outside the home, the number of people who provide care for an infant increases. These additional caregivers also influence the development, behavior, and actions of infants. For parents who work outside the home, the decision to place their infant in child care is ...