Concept and Nature of Attachment

Attachment is an emotional bond that makes a child feel close, safe, and loved by someone (usually the mother or a main caregiver). This bond is important for the child’s healthy growth and personality development.​

• Starts in Infancy: Babies show a desire to be close to their mother or main caretaker from an early age.​
• Physical Contact: Children want hugs, kisses, and fondling from loved ones, making them feel happy and secure.
• Preference for Familiar People: Babies are happiest with those they know; they may cry or avoid strangers, especially people with unfamiliar faces or features.​
• Attachment Is Positive: It means liking, warmth, affection, and a sense of belonging.

• Psychologists like Bowlby (1969) say this attachment starts as a natural, inborn response (not learned).​
• The bond with the mother/caregiver is usually the strongest, more than with other family members.

• When a child’s mother or familiar caretaker picks them up, they laugh and feel joyful. But with an unfamiliar person, they might cry or move away.
• Children sometimes attach to caretakers (other than the mother) if the mother is absent, but only if they provide comfort and warmth.

• Attachment means feeling close and safe with special people.
• It begins in infancy and helps children feel loved and secure.
• Physical closeness is important for positive emotions.
• Children avoid people they are not attached to.
• Secure attachment leads to healthy development.