Attachment is the bond that develops between an infant and their primary caregivers, and it has a profound impact on an infant’s development. Attachment can develop into different styles such as secure or insecure (anxious, avoidant, or disorganized). A secure attachment describes a healthy bond between an infant and their primary caregivers. Healthy attachment in newborns is marked by the development of trust and feelings of safety in a baby as a result of reliably experiencing positive interactions with caregivers.
Secure attachment is highly beneficial to babies during infancy and throughout their lives, as it:
- Provides them with a sense of security and safety
- Strengthens emotional regulations and the expression of feelings
- Teaches them to self-soothe
- Helps them experience happiness
- Supports calm feelings
- Increases resilience
- Encourages safe exploration, learning, and discovery
- Promotes cognitive development
- Supports strong self-esteem
- Leads to healthy social interactions, friendships, and relationships throughout life
Attachment style begins developing on the first day of an infant’s life, as they begin listening to the tone of your voice, interacting, observing, and waiting for you to respond to their cues. Practicing good parenting principles can help you foster a healthy attachment style in your infant.
Actively Develop Secure Attachment in Infants With Bonding Activities
The following activities can help caregivers create healthy bonds and secure attachment in infants:
- Practicing Responsive Caregiving – Responding to an infant’s cues (such as cries) in a timely and appropriate manner develops a strong bond and feelings of safety. Always respond to your baby’s cries.
- Comforting Touch – Gentle touch is one of the most effective ways to bond with a newborn. Hold your baby, cuddle, rock, or practice infant massage to soothe your infant.
- Skin-to-Skin Contact – Skin-to-skin contact helps foster a strong bond between an infant and caregiver by reducing stress, promoting nursing, regulating body temperature, and creating feelings of safety.
- Staying Close – You can stay close to your baby throughout the day by wearing them in an infant carrier. Your baby will feel safe and secure pressed close to you.
- Vocal Soothing – Your baby’s ears are always listening. Be aware of the tone of voice you use when speaking to your baby. Use a soft, sweet, comforting tone. You can also sing or tell your baby stories.
- Eye Contact – Gaze into your baby’s eyes with expressions of joy and love during playtime, feeding, and diaper changing.
Create a Secure Environment to Strengthen Secure Attachment in Newborns
Creating a safe and secure environment for your infant can help promote the development of secure attachment. Consider the following features of a secure environment:
- Responding to Your Infant’s Unique Cues – Each baby has a different set of cues that they use to communicate different needs. Attentive parents eventually begin to recognize a cry that communicates hunger, loneliness, discomfort, fear, etc. in their infants. Responding accordingly to these different cues reassures your infant that you understand them and can meet their needs.
- Understanding What Soothes Your Baby – Every infant has a different nervous system and will be soothed by different things. The environment that soothes one baby might not be calming for another. For example, soft music and nightlights might soothe one infant, while quiet and darkness soothe another.
- Developing Consistent Routines – Your infant probably can’t read a clock, but their internal clocks recognize routine. When you help them establish consistent mealtimes and bedtimes, their bodies will naturally begin to settle into these routines, helping them feel secure in a consistent schedule.
- Practicing Positive Discipline – In the first two years of life, babies are not yet developed enough to understand complex consequences, but discipline can begin early. Parents can gently redirect undesirable behavior, use positive language to instruct desired behaviors, praise good behavior with positive attention, and use gentle soothing techniques.
- Be Self-Aware – As a primary caregiver, you make up the biggest portion of your infant’s environment. So, caregivers must be aware of their own behavior, attitude, and mood. Find time to care for yourself, seek out support if you’re overly tired, and practice good time management to avoid becoming overwhelmed.
Learn More About Secure Attachment With Professional Guidance and Support
Being a new parent is one of the most joyful privileges, but that doesn’t mean being a new parent is easy. If you feel like you’re struggling to learn your infant’s cues or simply want to proactively provide your child with the best start in life, we encourage you to seek support from your infant’s pediatrician at Children’s Wellness Center.
As much as we are here to keep your baby healthy, we are also here to help you be the best parent you can be! We welcome you to sign up for our New Parents Class, and if you have any questions about creating secure attachments in newborns, please don’t hesitate to contact us.