The Man Who Remade Motherhood'

However, Rutter’s Romanian orphan study suggests that mothers are not special in the way Bolby believed. Infants displayed a range of attachment behaviour towards attachment figures other than their mothers and there isn’t any particular attachment behaviour that was exclusive to their mom. Schaffer and Emerson as well, found multiple attachments are the norm, in fact 39% of children had their main attachment to someone else than the main carer. These two findings undermine Bowlby’s theory.

Demographically, over 90% of the participants strongly agreed that fatherhood is crucial in our society. A little over 47% of fathers, that encouragement from the mothers of their children matters because of the obstacles they faced with finance, and their duties on the job. The final results of marital status statistics is over 80% married fathers, nine percent divorced, and six percent never married. One surprising statistic was 90% cohabitate with the mother and focal child (Glenn & Popenoe, 2006).

When a person becomes a parent, their role in life undoubtedly changes. The person must become a teacher, a guide, and a helping hand in the life of the child. Research has shown that there is a distinct connection between how a child is raised and their overall developmental outcome. John Bowlby’s attachment theory emphasizes the importance of the regular and sustained contact between the parent-infant or parent-child relationship (Travis & Waul 2003). Yet, what happens when the only physical contact a child can share with their parent is a hand pressed on the shield of glass that separates the two? What happens when the last memory of their mother or father was from the corner of their own living room as they watched their parent

Broderick and Blewitt (2015) stated, John Bowlby and Erik Erikson “proposed that the relationships that an infant has with one or a few caregivers during the first year of life provide him with a working model of himself and of others” (p. 133). Attachment theory plays a large role in cognitive and emotional development because it sets a foundation for the child. A case study of Angela, a 17-year-old mother, and her 11 month-old son, will dive into the attachment relationship between the two and extenuating circumstances surrounding that attachment. Angela is attempting to raise her son under the roof of her mother; who doesn’t support a paternal relationship for Adam. Angela’s attachment relationship with her son is an example of intergenerational transmission of attachment due to her attachment style with her own mother. Studies have shown positive and negative influences of teen mothers living in a home supervised by an adult, concerns with maternal attachment leading to disruptive behaviors, young children being untrusting of a mother due to an insecure attachment, and potential interventions to support a positive attachment relationship.

One thing that almost everybody will have to deal with at least once in their lifetime is parenting. In parenting, both parents are needed to make the job easier on themselves, their marriage and their child. In the essay The Myth of Co-Parenting: How It Was Supposed to Be. How It Was. by Hope Edelman, Edelman tells her experience with co-parenting. Edelman, along with many women, initially believed that co-parenting was possible. She soon figured out, however, that it was not a realistic goal. Some points that Edelman hits in the essay are the gender roles and societal expectations in parenting, being the nurturer versus being the provider, and how poor communication can ruin

I chose to interview three family members in order to evaluate similarities and differences on experiences on what it’s like to be a parent. I believe that there is no right or wrong way to define what family is, but the definition of family comes with a wide range of beliefs about parenting and what it means to be “good parents” to their children. Every person is different and when it comes to every parent, they have their own style of parenting due to the environments as well as experiences within their environment. Throughout the interviews, I hope to gain knowledge and to be able to understand what it’s like to be a full time parent. Therefore, I have completed three interviews with three separate members of my family that were all raised by the same parents in the same household so it would be interesting to get an insight of how each individuals perspective as parents are. Furthermore, I will present a summary of questions that I’ve asked, a summary of their answers as well as an analysis of their way of parenting with some information that I’ve gathered and compare it to what I’ve learned in class.

Mary Ainsworth was a psychologist that did a research studies about attachment between mothers and infants. Ainsworth’s research spanned four years of collection and it also took ten years to analyze. Ainsworth worked with John Bowlby and conducted research that provided an empirical support for his explanation of attachment. Ainsworth repeated part of her Ugandan studies in an American city where she observed the relationship between mothers and babies. Mary Ainsworth was known for her strange situation models. She begins

Being a stay-at-home mother was the main contributor to the type of bond that was created (Manis, 2014). Nameste had a constant caregiver early on which helped pave the road to her attachment to me (Manis, 2014). Another parenting decision that ushered her to secure attachment was never forcing her into uneasy settings (Manis, 2014). I paid close attention to her emotional needs (Manis, 2014). When she was upset in a situation I would swoop in and calm her down (Manis, 2014). If she could not be soothed I would remove her from the situation (Manis, 2014). She was only babysat for short amounts of time by a familiar caregiver (Manis, 2014). Which limited the number of caregivers allowing her to form a stronger bond with

This then led to his ‘Maternal Deprivation’ theory, investigated by Mary Ainsworth (1913-1999), which is when a relationship is broken or fails to be formed. It researched the effects of short term deprivation and how the child reacts to being left with a stranger in a room in an experiment to also split attachment into 3 different types; secure attachment, avoidant attachment and Ambivalent attachment. which suggests that “any conditions that threaten to separate mother and child activate instinctive attachment behaviours and feelings of insecurity and fear”, Collins et al (2012, p275)

The central theme of attachment theory is that mothers who are available and responsive to their infant's needs establish a sense

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

John Bowlby (1969) used the word “attachment” to explain the deep-rooted bonds that develop between children and their primary caregivers. Mother–infant attachment refers primarily to the lasting bonds between an infant and his or her mother (Bowlby, 1969). During this process an infant selectively seeks his or her mother when anxious in an effort to create a “secure base” while achieving comfort and feelings of safety.

There are a number of influences that contribute to the formation of attachments and the differences among individuals. One influence on attachment is the amount of time a caregiver spends with an infant. The amount of time can be affected by the age, health, and social status of the mother. For example, a younger, teenage mother, may return to school in order to complete their education. Returning to school can preoccupy a mother and create a disconnect when an infant’s distress and behaviors are not attended to or ignored. Another example of how the amount of time spent with an infant can be affected is a single-mother or a mother who returns to work within the sensitive time of an infant’s development. Similar to the younger mother example,

By responding with care and comfort, this enables for an “attachment bond” to form between the infant and caregiver, most commonly the mother (White et al., 2013). Following on from Bowlby’s theory, Mary Ainsworth investigated the theory of attachment through observing the reactions of infants when their mothers left them alone with strangers. The investigation was named as the “Ainsworth’s strange situation assessment” (White et al., 2013). It was discovered through this investigation that infants who had secure attachments with their mothers were upset when separated and were easily soothed when the mother returns. This investigation implies that infants with secure attachment to their mothers show signs of normal social development.

Experimental data suggest that the past experiences of the mother are a major determinant in molding her care-giving role. Children use adults, especially loved and powerful adults, as models for their own behaviour. Children development literature, states that the powerful process of imitation or modelling socially inclines children. Kennell and Klaus explain that unless adults consciously and painstakingly reexamine these learned behaviours, they will unconsciously repeat them when they become parents (Kennell and Klaus 11). Thus the way a woman was raised, which includes the practices of her culture and the individual idiosyncrasies of her own mother's child raising practices greatly influences her behaviour toward her own infant. Bob Brazelton in The Early Mother-Infant Adjustment says that, "It may seem to many that attachment to a small baby will come naturally and to make too much of it could be a mistake... but there are many, many women who have a difficult time making this adjustment...(Brazelton 10). He points out that we must understand the ingredients of attachment in order to help, because each mother-child dyad is unique and has individual needs of it's own (Brazelton 12).