Relationships are important throughout the life span. For very young children, they are critical to survival itself. Infants depend on adult caregivers to meet their physical as well as their emotional needs. As babies get older and become more self-sufficient, they continue to need physical care and to depend on the emotional nurturance of the important adults in their lives.
All children are born wired to form relationships. Establishing a close, nurturing bond with a primary caregiver is a major developmental task for infants and toddlers. The process of relationship building begins in pregnancy, continuing throughout the infants’ first 12 months and beyond.
Research shows that supportive relationships have a tangible, long-term influence on children’s healthy development, contributing to optimal social, emotional, and cognitive development for infants and toddlers (Zeanah & Doyle Zeanah, 2001). As a child grows, supportive relationships with parents and caregivers shape his or her self-image and provide the child with the resilience needed to face new challenges.
Nurturing, sensitive adult-child interactions are crucial for the development of trust, empathy, compassion, generosity, and conscience. These relationships are far reaching; research has shown that they provide a context for supporting the development of curiosity, self-direction, persistence, cooperation, caring and conflict resolution skills (Greenough, et. al., 2001). Healthy maternal-child relationships are a precursor of school readiness for older children (Kaplan- Sanoff, 2000). Throughout the life span, nurturing and supportive relationship experiences provide a model for loving relationships.
References
Kaplan-Sanoff, M. (2000). Understanding your child’s emotional health. Paper presented at the meeting of Healthy Child Care New England, Brewster, MA.
Greenough, W., Emde, R.N., Gunnar, M., Massinga, R., and Shonkoff, J.P. (2001). The impact of the caregiving environment on young children’s development. Zero to Three, 21(5), 16-23.
Zeanah, C.H. and Doyle Zeanah, P. (2001). Towards a definition of infant mental health. Zero to Three, 22(1), 13-20.
