Trust, Security, Attachment

Infants

What We Saw: A child awakens from naptime later than the other children. All the other children are eating snack at the other side of the room. The teacher notices that the child is awake and greets her warmly from the other side of the room. When she is able she goes over, kneels down and asks, "Do you want your pants changed?" The child toddles over to the teacher. The teacher comforts her for a moment. When the child seems ready the teacher reaches out to pick her up, but waits until the child "replies" by reaching out her own arms.

What It Means: Sensitive teacher interactions with children are especially important as children transition in and out of sleep. The teacher insured this was a comfortable transition by greeting the child when she awoke and then going over and hugging the child as soon as she was able. (When a child learns to trust an adult to care for her dependably, then gentle words from across the room -or even just eye contact-can settle a child.) The teacher was very sensitive to the child's cues and allowed a reciprocal interaction in which the child set the pace.

Infants

What We Saw: The teacher talks to the young infant as she feeds her in the highchair. "It looks like you might need some help. Can you hold your cup? No?" The infant touches the wet washcloth on her tray. "You want to touch the washcloth. It's cold". When the infant is put on the floor to play, she reaches towards a beach ball. "You want that ball," the caregiver says, placing it in her lap. Later, when changing another infant's diaper, she hears the first infant vocalizing. The caregiver turns to look at the baby on the floor and copies the sound; "Aahhh! You wanted me to respond to you." The infant smiles broadly and relaxes.

What It Means: The caregiver is tuned in to each baby's signals. She reads the child's non-verbal cues (facial expression, body movements and vocalizations) to correctly interpret the baby's message. The changes in the baby's posture or expression let the caregiver know if she correctly interpreted the cues. When the caregiver provides the words for the child's message, she promotes receptive language acquisition and helps her feel understood. This sensitivity builds trust. Studies have shown that babies who have sensitive caregivers who respond quickly and appropriately to their cues, actually cry less often than babies whose caregivers are not as responsive. The babies learn that they do not have to resort to crying to get their needs met.

Infants

What We Saw: The teacher cuddles with a child on his first day at the center. Although the child cries throughout most of the morning, the teacher keeps repeating his name, cuddling with him, and telling him, "It is okay, I am here." She sings to him, while holding him in her arms. One week later, the child was walking around the room playing inside of a playhouse socializing with friends.

What It Means: Children need to feel secure in their environment before they are willing to explore it. This is a general principle of psychology: that young children must balance their instincts for safety and exploration. We see examples of this all the time. For example, when a door slams loudly, a baby will anxiously look around to find mother or father, run to them for comfort, and then eventually go back to exploring their surroundings. In early childhood education, children must learn to trust their teachers, before a feeling of security within the classroom can develop. Two ways this teacher increased the child's feelings of security were through physical comforting and music. Over time, with a teacher who is dependably comforting, the child comes to view the teacher as a secure base for exploration. Fears and crying stop, exploration and learning begin.

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