Attachment in Infants

Facilitating attachment in all infants is essential for them to develop a sense of trust in the world ("Adoption," 1990, p. 1). Their basic trust in the world forms the foundation for the development of the infants and their interaction with other people and society (Helding, 1994). By trusting their primary caretakers, infants feel safe to explore their surroundings, knowing that their primary caretakers are close to them. Young children often look back to their parents for signs of reactions and support. These interactions and trust lead to internal referencing when the children get older. In making decisions about various activities, they think about their parents' reactions even when the latter is physically not there (Doolittle, 1995). Without a sense of attachment, the children will grow up without acknowledging social standards and the values of the parents. The children will be ruled by their own impulses and will (Helding, 1994).

For adopted infants and toddlers, the attachment process is even more crucial because of the transition between primary caretakers. Therefore, all the techniques used to facilitate attachment in newly born infants should be employed in order to help adopted children adjust to their new lives and surroundings. Furthermore, even if these infants and toddlers have been adopted at a later age, some of these techniques are still useful because their attachment needs may not have been met in their previous environment. In this paper, the strateg

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Category: Psychology - A