By: Marilyn C. Arayata
PSYCHOLOGISTS emphasize the need for infant-parent/caregiver attachment because it impacts the infant’s future as a toddler, a child, a teen-ager, and an adult! When an infant cries because he is hungry, afraid, or wet, somebody picks him up and gives a quick and appropriate response. Somebody cuddles him. He develops eye contact. He hears real voices and laughter. The infant learns that there is an adult who is sensitive to his needs and in whom he can depend. Psychologists say this is how an infant develops trust.
What happens when there is no attachment between an infant and a parent or caregiver – when the infant’s needs are not met quickly, appropriately, and consistently? According to American psychologist Erik Erikson, if there is no bonding or attachment during this critical period, mistrust develops.
Another psychologist, Dr. Ken Magid, explained that lack of infant-mother/caregiver attachment leads to mistrust and “deep-seated rage.” Further, he said that the lack of emotional bond causes the inability to establish and maintain meaningful and lasting relationships. It also explains the failure to develop empathy, the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.
Magid says many – but not all unattached children become serious law offenders. Others are described as “aggressive, reckless, and cruel to others.” They can leave tremendous emotional and mental anguish to those who try to form relationships with them, according to Magid.
Even the World Health Organization encourages infant-mother attachment to promote better psychosocial development inchildren. It says, “Studies have shown that infants who are abandoned and separated from their mothersbecome unhappy and depressed, sometimes to the point of panic. After long periods of separationand isolation, they show symptoms of either apathy and withdrawal or restlessness, hyperactivity, inability to concentrate, and craving for affection.”
With rising cases of teen pregnancy and early marriage, even grade school and high school students need to be taught about the importance and long-term effects of infant-parent/caregiver attachment. This topic also makes us appreciate any effort to increase the maternity leave benefits of working mothers because more time for babies helps ensurethe development of well-adjusted children and adults.
