Infancy and Childhood Original Content Copyright by HOLT McDougal. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor. Attachment is an important factor affecting social development. It is defined as the emotional ties that form between people. Up until four months of age, infants prefer being held or even just being with someone. By about four months, infants develop strong attachments to their main caregivers, usually their mothers. By about eight months, some infants develop stranger anxiety and separation anxiety. Development of Attachment Attachment Based on studies with monkeys, researchers have concluded that attachment grows more from contact comfort than from feeding. Bonds of attachment between mothers and infants appear to provide a secure base from which infants can explore their environments. Contact Comfort

Infancy and Childhood Original Content Copyright by HOLT McDougal. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor. Secure Versus Insecure Attachment When mothers or other primary caregivers are affectionate and reliable, infants usually become securely attached. When caregivers are unresponsive or unreliable, infants are usually insecurely attached. Secure infants may mature into secure children. Imprinting For many animals, attachment is an instinct. In a process called imprinting, some animals become attached to the first moving object they see. Children do not imprint. It takes several months before children become attached to their main caregivers.

Infancy and Childhood Original Content Copyright by HOLT McDougal. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor. Autism Autism is a developmental disorder that prevents children from forming proper attachments with others. People with autism have a very wide variety of symptoms from very severe to very subtle. Mild autism can go undiagnosed for years. Parents and doctors often recognize symptoms of autism during infancy and early childhood.

Infancy and Childhood Original Content Copyright by HOLT McDougal. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor.

Infancy and Childhood Original Content Copyright by HOLT McDougal. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor. Warm or Cold? Warm parents show a great deal of affection to their children. Cold parents may not be as affectionate toward their children or appear to enjoy them as much. Research suggests that children fare better when their parents are warm to them. Children of warm parents are more likely to be well adjusted. Strict or Permissive? Some parents are strict with their children, imposing many rules and supervising their children closely. Some parents are permissive with their children, imposing fewer rules and watching their children less closely. Authoritative parents combine warmth with age appropriate rules and responsibilities. Authoritarian parents believe in obedience for its own sake. Styles of Parenting

Infancy and Childhood Original Content Copyright by HOLT McDougal. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor.

Infancy and Childhood Original Content Copyright by HOLT McDougal. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor. Most parents are kind and loving to their children. Yet child abuse is relatively widespread and seriously underreported. The following factors are associated with child abuse and neglect: –Stress, especially from unemployment or poverty –A history of physical or sexual abuse in at least one parent’s family –Acceptance of violence as a way of coping with stress –Lack of attachment to the child –Substance abuse –Rigid attitudes about child rearing Studies show that children who are abused run a higher risk of developing psychological problems. Child abuse tends to run in families. Child Abuse and Neglect

Infancy and Childhood Original Content Copyright by HOLT McDougal. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor. Most American parents work outside the home and more than half of mothers of children younger than one year of age are working mothers. Millions of preschoolers are cared for in day-care facilities. Studies of the effects of day care on parent-child attachments have shown mixed results. Day care seems to have mixed effects on other aspects of children’s social development. The quality of care seems to be more important than who provides it. Child Care

Infancy and Childhood Original Content Copyright by HOLT McDougal. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor.

Infancy and Childhood Original Content Copyright by HOLT McDougal. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor. Self-esteem, the value or worth that people attach to themselves, begins to develop in early childhood. Secure attachment plays a major role in influencing self-esteem. Another influence is how parents react to their children. Children who receive unconditional positive regard usually develop high self-esteem. Children who receive conditional positive regard may have lower self-esteem. Influences on Self-Esteem Self-Esteem Girls tend to display greater competence in reading and general academic skills and boys tend to display competence in math and physical skills. This may be because this is what girls and boys are supposed to be good at. It is not for a genetic reason. Gender and Self-Esteem

Infancy and Childhood Original Content Copyright by HOLT McDougal. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor. The Self-Esteem Trap By the 1970s, greater self-esteem was thought of by many as a potential cure-all for society’s problems. Showering children with praise regardless of their performance was the common practice. Findings in 2000 showed that high self-esteem in children did not lead to higher grades and that high self-esteem did not make violent kids any less so or keep kids from becoming bullies. Focusing on building self-esteem at the expense of other qualities, such as self-control or self-discipline, may be misguided. Age and Self-Esteem Although children gain in competence as they grow older, their self- esteem tends to decline during the elementary school years. It seems to reach a low point at about age 12 or 13 and increases again during adolescence.