Many parents don’t realize that the quality of the nurturing and love they give their children not only influences how their children’s brains are wired but also how they grow physically. Do you hope that your baby will grow and develop to his fullest potential and reach all of his academic and life goals? If your answer is a resounding “yes!!” then help foster your baby’s Attachment and Trust, one of the key ingredients to maximizing his learning and development.¹

(SPECIAL OFFER: Sign up for Playful Bee’s Bee Well developmental learning program to give your baby the best start in life. The first 10,000 children enroll for FREE! Sign up today.)

From day one, your infant’s brain can automatically run on survival mode to protect itself from any unknown dangers in the world. For many children, this isn’t necessary, as they are able to develop a secure attachment with their caregivers. In other words, these children are able to not only feel strongly attached or emotionally bonded to their caregivers, but also know that they can count on them to nurture and protect them.²

Some babies don’t have a secure attachment, and this can be detrimental to their development. New science has found that if a child does not feel safe and well cared for, his brain can shift to a “fight, flight or freeze” mode, operating on toxic stress and reacting with a state of hyper-arousal (i.e. a strong reaction, resistance, or aggression to typical sensory input) or dissociation (i.e. a weak reaction to, detachment from, or avoidance of typical sensory input).³ Toxic stress is defined as a high level of attention where a baby’s brain floods with chemicals such as cortisol (a stress hormone), his heart rate increases, and his muscles grow tense, preparing him to respond to the threat he senses in an attempt to survive.

Children who are often in this stressful state experience poor development to the growth and wiring of their brains, their immune system, their ability to learn, and their emotional well-being.^4,5,6 Signs that an infant is in a “fight, flight, or freeze” mode may include dilated pupils, pale or flushed skin, increased breathing and heart rates, and the sudden release of bladder or bowels.⁷

John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth, leading psychologists in the field of Attachment Theory, found that the quality of a child’s attachment to their primary caregiver is critical for healthy early childhood development. In fact, after studying at-risk, delinquent youth, Bowlby found a strong connection between negative behavior and a history of “maternal deprivation and separation.”⁸ Without the development of strong early attachment to their caregivers, these children lacked the necessary tools and skills they needed to thrive and learn.

However, if you give your baby loving and responsive care, you will be encouraging him to develop a strong attachment with you and to trust the world around him. This support will give your newborn a sense of well-being and safety so that he is able to switch off survival mode and turn on one of discovery and learning. Then he will be able to build the Attachment and Trust that promotes healthy brain development and leads to positive growth in all learning areas.

Research conducted jointly by Sylvia Bell and Mary Ainsworth at John Hopkins University also found that babies who were securely attached and received more responsive and attentive care (e.g. being picked up when they cried and being able to make eye contact with caregivers) showed more advanced intellectual and physical development compared to their less bonded and nurtured counterparts.¹ The types of positive attachment that best support your baby’s development are how sensitive you are to his needs, how frequently you interact with him (physically and verbally), and how much freedom he has to explore his environment.¹

From zero to three months, there are observable signs your baby is securely attaching to you and his other caregivers. These signs include turning his face towards your voice,⁹ tracking your face and movements,^9,10 smiling and cooing,¹¹ and making eye contact during feedings.¹¹ Observe your baby and look for these signs that indicate he is developing a much needed secure attachment with you and other loved ones.

(SPECIAL OFFER: Sign up for Playful Bee’s Bee Well developmental learning program to give your baby the best start in life. The first 10,000 children enroll for FREE! Sign up today.)

Play Tips:

Do you want to know how you can support your baby’s development of Attachment and Trust skills at this age? It’s easy! Read on for some simple tips to incorporate into your daily play time together.

1. Make eye contact and speak directly to your baby in parentese.¹² Parentese is an exaggerated, sing-song way of speaking to babies. When using parentese, caregivers use a pitch that is higher than normal conversational tones and drawn out vowel sounds. Babies respond to this type of speech more readily than any other conversational tones. Give your baby your complete attention to help him focus and interact with you in return. While he is focused on you, respond with laughter, sounds of delight, and loving touch.
2. Shower your baby with lots of smiles, hugs and other warm physical contact.⁹ This physical contact will help make him feel secure and safe. At birth, many parents often use “kangaroo care” to begin developing a strong and loving bond with their newborn baby. Defined as a baby and parent’s skin-to-skin embrace,¹³ you can continue giving him kangaroo care at home to further enhance your bond together. Be sure that the room is warm enough to keep you and your baby comfortable.
3. Respond appropriately to your baby when he cries.¹¹ Ask yourself, “What is my baby trying to tell me?” and respond appropriately. When your newborn cries or fusses, he is most likely asking for help to satisfy a basic need: hunger, tiredness, or discomfort, and, remember, at this age you cannot “spoil” your baby by responding to his needs.¹ If you do choose to ignore his cries often, he may start to feel neglected and become distressed and insecure, causing him to turn on his “fight, flight, or freeze” mode and hurting his learning and development.
4. Try to strike a balance in your parenting. While your baby is going to be your number one focus for quite a while, you need to make sure to take care of yourself as well. If someone offers to help, and it gives you time to do a shopping trip or even take a nap, don’t be afraid to accept! It will give you a break, which will make you even more responsive to your baby when you return. In addition, be wary, as he grows older, of being too responsive. There will come a time where you will have to say no, for example to a request for pre-dinner snacks or more TV time, and you will need to start thinking about his wants vs. needs.
5. Use Baby B’s, attachment tools that fit your baby’s needs.¹ Dr. William Sears, a pioneer in attachment parenting, recommends seven simple and effective attachment tools, named the “Baby B’s,” that parents can use to build a strong parent-baby attachment. By practicing the Baby B’s, your baby will be more likely to grow up with more positive self-esteem and confidence and become more adaptable, anchored, caring, communicative, connected, and curious. The Baby B’s are

• Birth bonding (see Play Tip 2)
• Breastfeeding
• Babywearing
• Bedsharing (note: Given the potential suffocation risk, consider the alternative of having your baby in a co-sleeper next to you.)
• Belief in your baby’s cries (see Play Tip 3)
• Balance and boundaries (see Play Tip 4)
• Beware of baby training (evaluate the appropriateness and timing when using restrained childcare techniques, such as “Cry it Out.”)

Developmental Milestones:

Has your newborn achieved the following Attachment and Trust developmental milestones yet? If yes, check off all the skill(s) he has already mastered to date using Playful Bee’s developmental milestones tracker. It’s absolutely FREE and so easy to use, just click HERE!

• Displays attachment to caregivers.
• Recognizes and turns toward familiar faces and sounds.

Sources:

¹Sears, Dr. William, and Sears, Martha (2001). The Attachment Parenting Book. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company.

²Early Moments Matter. Attachment: Why It’s Crucial for Your Baby. Baby Center. Retreived February 14, 2014, from http://www.babycenter.com/0_attachment-why-its-crucial-for-your-baby_10349909.bc.

³Perry, Bruce D. (2003). Effects of Traumatic Events in Children. The Child Trauma Academy. Retrieved February 3, 2014, from http://www.mentalhealthconnection.org/pdfs/perry-handout-effects-of-trauma.pdf.

⁴Gellens, Suzanne R. (2013). Building Brains. St. Paul, MN: Redleaf Press.

⁵Wotherspoon, E.; Hawkins, E.; & Gough, P. (2009). Emotional trauma in infancy. CECW Information Sheet #75E. Toronto, ON, Canada: University of Toronto Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work. Retrieved September 23, 2015, from http://www.wonderbabiesco.org/UserFiles/File/InfantTrauma75E[1](1).pdf.

⁶InBrief Series. “The Impact of Early Adversity on Children’s Development.” Center on the Developing Child. Harvard University. Retreived February 3, 2014, from http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/resources/multimedia/videos/inbrief_series/inbrief_impact_of_adversity.

⁷Gleitman, Henry, Alan J. Fridlund, and Daniel Reisberg. (2004). Psychology (6 ed.). New York, NY: W W Norton & Company Inc.

⁸Bretherton, Inge (1992). The Origins of Attachment Theory: John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth. Developmental Psychology 28: 759-775. Retrieved February 4, 2014, from http://www.psychology.sunysb.edu/attachment/online/inge_origins.pdf.

⁹Maryland State Department of Education (2010). Healthy Beginnings: Supporting Development and Learning from Birth through Three Years of Age. Retrieved February 3, 2014, from http://olms1.cte.jhu.edu/olms/tmp/file/Healthy%20Beginnings/Healthy%20Beginnings%20Book_2015-Updated-Final.pdf.

¹⁰California Department of Education (2009). California Infant/Toddler Learning and Development Foundations. Retrieved February 3, 2014, from http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/re/documents/itfoundations2009.pdf

¹¹Oklahoma Child Care Services. Oklahoma Learning Guidelines for Infants, Toddlers, and Twos: Ages 0 through 36 Months. Retrieved February 3, 2014, from http://www.okdhs.org/nr/rdonlyres/dcbc98d7-48b3-42c3-befe-c4abe6f486ac/0/1023_oklahomaearlylearningguide_occs036mo_04012011.pdf.

¹²Nugent, Dr. Kevin, and Morell, Abelardo (2011). Your Baby is Speaking to You. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

¹³Cleveland Clinic: Children’s (2011). Kangaroo Care. Cleveland Clinic. Retrieved January 30, 2014, from http://my.clevelandclinic.org/childrens-hospital/health-info/ages-stages/baby/hic-Kangaroo-Care.aspx.

• About
• Latest Posts

Playful Bee

Education Team at Playful Bee

Playful Bee is an e-Preschool that delivers inquiry-based preschool learning from the classroom to your home. Our preschool curriculum was created by our talented team of rock star teachers. With years of hands-on preschool and Kindergarten teaching experience, they've developed a high-quality preschool experience that is convenient-to-use and easy-to-teach by you, grandparents, or your nanny at home.

Latest posts by Playful Bee (see all)

• Have a Super Fortune Cookie Friday! - February 9, 2018
• All Kinds of Shapes: Your Child Is Learning Simple Shapes, and Drawing Them Too! - November 13, 2017
• Fishing for Sneakers: Create your own Hand-Eye Coordination Fun - November 11, 2017