Developmental Psychology and Key Person Essay

Moreover, the children’s key carers must provide positive environments for their children so that they can learn from their own experiences. If the children receive this then their individual needs will be catered for, they will develop amiably and they will form a strong attachment with their key carers. However, if they don’t provide this for their children, then they will lack confidence and will show this insecurity through their behaviour. Consequently, they will not have positive holistic development.

If any problems occur to the child, they can return to their secure base which is their key worker, who can offer them comfort. Although key workers are not there for children who have not formed an attachment with their parents, they are they to offer support and comfort. The strength of Bowlby’s approach is that it has introduced the key worker system, which has helped a great deal with supporting children’s needs and development. Key workers can track their progress and plan and implement activities which promote their development. While working at my last year’s placement in a nursery setting, I was informed that each child had a key worker assigned to them. I observed that when parents would leave their children, some would cry and get upset, the key worker would then take them aside and comfort them or try to distract them. Having the key workers there for them made the child more emotionally secure.

* Babies and young children are vulnerable and very dependent on their parents and carers. Therefore as well as provide and children’s learning and development it is also essential that we support the physical care, keep them safe and meet their nutritional needs.

It is very important to recognise that parents and practitioners have different kinds of relationships with the children in their care. Practitioners need to develop consistent, warm and affectionate relationships with children especially babies but they should not seek to replace the parents. Babies need to be with the same people each and every day to develop social relationships. This is why the EYFS requires all early years settings and schools to implement a key person system. Parents and practitioners have one thing in common that is very important: they all want the best for the child. The roles involved are not the same yet they are complementary. Parents know their own child best. Practitioners have knowledge of general child development.

The importance of a healthy attachment in early childhood development can lead to a better adult development and skills for daily life. A secure and healthy attachment to the caregiver in infancy to adolescence showcases the importance of building strong relationships and coping skills during periods of stress and anxiety. The research that has been found, goes into detail about the different types of attachments that infants and children can develop as well as what negative and positive aspects come along with the attachments.

Although secure attachment during infancy is the foundation for continued healthy positive development during the lifespan, it is important to understand that other factors can have a significant effect on development later in life (i.e. illness, loss, and trauma). However, research has shown the importance of consistent care giving that is responsive and nurturing and the caregivers’ ability to effectively accommodate more difficult temperament characteristics ,as well as other factors, influence the development of healthy attachment{{64 Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian 2003}}. Research has also shown that infancy and early childhood is the period of development where scaffolding begins and continues (Vygotsky, 1978; Zhao & Orey,1999).

Infants and youthful youngsters figure out how to be solid and autonomous through cherishing and secure associations with guardians and carers and other relatives, for example, grandparents. At the point when kids are taken care of outside the home they can create security and freedom through having a key individual to watch over them. Kids' learning is helped when they feel protected and secure and when their folks and the general population in settings they go to cooperate to guarantee that the youngster's needs are met. A key individual, for example, a childminder gives a consoling connection home so youngsters can adapt to being isolated from the uncommon individuals in their lives. Connections are the enthusiastic bonds that are made between

The system of a key worker in the setting is based on the principles of the attachment theory. The key person responds sensitively to the child’s demands and regularly engages in playful interactions. The child will become fond of their key person, and will prefer to be with them other than other practitioners, and will often refuse to go with any other practitioners. The key person has a big impact on all areas of a child’s wellbeing, learning and

It has been shown that the relationships infants develop early on in life have lasting effects on their identity and behavior. Extensive research has indicated that the relationship between an infant and its caregivers is particularly important.

The concept of infant-mother attachment is as important to the child as the birth itself. The effect this relationship has on a child shall affect that child for its entire life. A secure attachment to the mother or a primary caregiver is imperative for a child’s development. Ainsworth’s study shows that a mother is responsive to her infant’s behavioral cues which will develop into a strong infant-mother attachment. This will result in a child who can easily, without stress, be separated from his mother and without any anxiety. Of course the study shows a child with a weak infant-mother relationship will lead to mistrust, anxiety, and will never really be that close with the mother. Without the

The main point of Bowlby’s theory of childhood development was the importance of the bond between the caregiver and the child. Bowlby suggested that the caregivers play a significant role in the cognitive development of children as their relationship influences the thought process. Infants are innately dependent or attached to their guardians and parents right from the point of conception. Kids aim to stay as close as possible to their caregivers expecting the reward of security and a safe haven. Research asserts that children who receive consistent love and care are more likely to develop stable thinking patterns with minimal or no mental

Caregivers play a primary role in how a child may develop. The daily interaction between the caregiver and child continually changes the pathway in which the child may take. How the child is raised and the parenting style used is a significant influence on that development by affecting the relationship between parent and child. This supports the Attachment theory in which emphasizes relationship between the child and caregiver as a key factor in development.

In the first few months of life, the sole purpose of any child’s behaviour is to survive. This, more often than not, results in actions that reduce the risk of harm and increase the chances of longevity. Of these behaviours, some argue that the most influential is attachment behaviour. “Attachment behaviour is any form of behaviour that results in a person attaining or maintaining proximity to some other clearly identified individual who is conceived as better able to cope with the world”(Bowlby, 1982). Therefore, children will make an effort to stay close to and under the protection of their primary caregiver. According to Webster, “through interactions with their primary caregiver, the child develops expectations and understandings about the workings of relationships. These mental representations of relationships become internalized to the degree that they influence feelings, thought and behaviour automatically and unconsciously” (1999, p.6). Moreover, the response of the identified individual plays a huge role in the child’s perception of the outside world. If the caregiver responds to the child’s needs in a caring and protective manner, the child will feel safe and comfortable in his or her surroundings. If, on the other hand, the caregiver is often emotionally and/or physically unavailable, the child is likely to

Essential to the healthy physical and psychological development of children, is that their basic needs are consistently met. Research showed that in addition to physical needs, such as safety, food, shelter and access to medical care, children’s psychological wellness is determined on the nature of relationship with those primarily responsible for their care. Specifically, beginning at birth, the relationship must be characterized by security and uninterrupted

The attachment theory in early childhood Education is a primary caregiving system establishing an allocated educator as the primary caregiver of an individual child, who takes a key role and interest in the child's day-to-day experience thereby becoming the 'secure base' for the child within the centre (Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 2011). A ‘secure base’ for a child is the ideal attachment style which unfortuntly does not