Attachment refers to the first emotional bond that develops gradually between a child and the parent and which serves to ensure the child's protection and psychological security (Gaumon, 2013). When referring to or speaking of attachment or the emotional bond that a child begins to form in early childhood, it is assumed that it is with the child’s mother instead of possibly the child’s biological father or perhaps just a caregiver. As research has shown there is a major correlation between a child’s cognitive and behavioral growth based on the relationship developed between the mother and child. However, is there a difference in development, emotional …show more content…
Although, the primary caregiver is usually the child’s mother and a key in child maturation, “…fathers tend to be more playful than mothers, and fathers could be as interested in, competent with, and nurturant of their infants as mothers”(McCormick and Kennedy, 2000). This playfulness helps to stimulate the child’s confidence in overcoming self esteem issues and limiting possible symptoms of anxiety in early childhood and late adolescence. The significance of the role that the father plays in an infant’s development can be seen later in their adolescent years, a time when most children face puberty and changes in how they begin to see themselves, a very vulnerable time in the lives of pre-teens and teenagers; through a relationship with the father, it is noted that children are able to develop better coping skills than that of just a mother-child …show more content…
This paper also only looks at the progress and growth made from a child’s toddler years up to their adolescence, while it is also limited in the fact that it does not take into account the importance the child’s environment might have played when maturing mentally and physically. Future experiments are encouraged to explore other developmental theories with differing environments and circumstances, in an attempt to gain an overall better knowledge on how development works and what are the major causes of a child’s maturation. This will enable a better understanding on theories of childhood development and its causes.
References
Gaumon, S., Paquette, D., Cyr, C., Émond-Nakamura, M. and St-André, M. (2016), Anxiety and Attachment to the Mother in Preschoolers Receiving Psychiatric Care: The Father-Child Activation Relationship as a Protective Factor. Infant Ment. Health J., 37: 372–387.
Mccormick, C. B., & Kennedy, J. H. (2000). Father-Child Separation, Retrospective And Current Views Of Attachment Relationship With Father, And Self-Esteem In Late Adolescence. Psychological Reports, 86(3), 827-834.
Paquette, D. (2004b). The father-child relationship and the opening to the world. Enfance, 56(2), 205–225
Paquette, D. (2004c). Theorizing