Attachment: I have an adult who cherishes me and keeps me safe.

This year your child's teachers have engaged in an intensive study of the critical life skills your child needs to thrive in today'd world.  We've been working to understand the latest research, think about to help children develop in this area, and incorporate specific teaching of the skills into our daily curriculum.  Together with the Children's Center Learning Committee we are studying the text Beyond Behavior Management by Jenna Bilmes.  We invite you to join us in this study by purchasing your own copy to read at home.  Come ask us about it!


Over the past two months, our focus has been on learning about attachment, the skill of being able to depend on adults for safety and security, seeking out adults for conversation and play, and accepting comfort, love, and affection from a trusted adult.  We have challenged our own long held notions about attachment and learned that many children who appear to have behavior issues may actually have weak attachment skills.  Therefore, withholding attention as a punishment for this behavior can have the opposite of the intend effect on a child.  Bilmes notes, "Making love and affection contingent upon 'good behavior' may seem to make sense on the surface.  If children crave attachment to significant adults, wouldn't they behave better in order to get that love?  In fact, the opposite is true.  Children cooperate more with adults who accept them unconditionally.  Early learning for children is relationship based."


Stay tuned for tips on how to support your child in developing strong attachment skills.