Attachment research- nurturing
October 25, 2016 10:57 AM Subscribe
What research do you know of (or how would you best word searches to get results on the topic) for how responses to toddler crying impact later attachment?
I know I have read numerous places that responding to children with empathy and support instead of ignoring crying or telling them "you're fine" is more effective long term, however when I need to find this research I never can find it. I find that child care workers who do this learn it from each other and think it's effective, but in rooms where teachers do this a lot the children are crying more often and less secure and act out more. Observationally I have not seen it to actually be effective long term, but it's very hard to tackle a culture of overworked and understaffed daycare workers learning to ignore children's needs as routine without having some evidence up my sleeve.
Help me out! I know the research is there (and hey if you know of research on long term outcomes that finds telling kids your fine and ignoring their crying is actually beneficial that's worth knowing too, maybe they know something I don't). In general I see this technique used a lot more by people with less child development experience and the people with higher education and masters degrees or more tend to recommend more responsive care and offering affirming comfort and redirection. Somehow I'm struggling to pull up the research on it.
I know I have read numerous places that responding to children with empathy and support instead of ignoring crying or telling them "you're fine" is more effective long term, however when I need to find this research I never can find it. I find that child care workers who do this learn it from each other and think it's effective, but in rooms where teachers do this a lot the children are crying more often and less secure and act out more. Observationally I have not seen it to actually be effective long term, but it's very hard to tackle a culture of overworked and understaffed daycare workers learning to ignore children's needs as routine without having some evidence up my sleeve.
Help me out! I know the research is there (and hey if you know of research on long term outcomes that finds telling kids your fine and ignoring their crying is actually beneficial that's worth knowing too, maybe they know something I don't). In general I see this technique used a lot more by people with less child development experience and the people with higher education and masters degrees or more tend to recommend more responsive care and offering affirming comfort and redirection. Somehow I'm struggling to pull up the research on it.
You want to look for research that looks at "authoritative parenting" styles.
posted by sputzie at 11:29 AM on October 25, 2016
posted by sputzie at 11:29 AM on October 25, 2016
a good search term is "emotionally intelligent parenting."
posted by pintapicasso at 11:48 AM on October 25, 2016
posted by pintapicasso at 11:48 AM on October 25, 2016
Why Love Matters by Sue Gerhardt covers this in fairly convincing detail.
posted by scyllary at 12:40 PM on October 25, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by scyllary at 12:40 PM on October 25, 2016 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks for helping- since I've taken course work in human development and psychology, I have actually seen a LOT of research on things like harsh parenting and it including responsiveness to crying and things like that. I'm just not finding the search terms I'm using are bringing them up (plus I don't have the same access to university libraries which likely is the bigger factor.)
It's frustrating when I hear teachers complaining about those who "baby" toddlers by letting them hold comfort animals or offering support when they are upset instead of glaring and saying "You're fine" which some teachers think is the best way to handle it. While research may be mixed, I know there is certainly a lot of evidence indicating there are benefits of emotionally responsive caregiving vs harsh or detached parenting.
Honestly we should be doing a lot more work to both do this kind of research and make it known to people doing this work- it's so sad that early caregiving is so rarely treated as the foundational experience for health and well being that it is for so many children. It's certain these experiences can impact health, mental health, and other long term life outcomes far into the future, I wish I could bring a lot more education to those doing the work! (And pay and benefits and respect for those doing the work).
posted by xarnop at 9:57 AM on October 26, 2016
It's frustrating when I hear teachers complaining about those who "baby" toddlers by letting them hold comfort animals or offering support when they are upset instead of glaring and saying "You're fine" which some teachers think is the best way to handle it. While research may be mixed, I know there is certainly a lot of evidence indicating there are benefits of emotionally responsive caregiving vs harsh or detached parenting.
Honestly we should be doing a lot more work to both do this kind of research and make it known to people doing this work- it's so sad that early caregiving is so rarely treated as the foundational experience for health and well being that it is for so many children. It's certain these experiences can impact health, mental health, and other long term life outcomes far into the future, I wish I could bring a lot more education to those doing the work! (And pay and benefits and respect for those doing the work).
posted by xarnop at 9:57 AM on October 26, 2016
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posted by LKWorking at 11:29 AM on October 25, 2016 [1 favorite]