Our Impact on Childhood Development

For my paper 3 research paper, I argued the importance of caregiver involvement in a child's life, beginning as early as infancy. The presence and availability of the caregiver, will allow the child to feel more secure in their environment and will allow them to interact efficiently with their peers in the future. Why do we care about a person's interactions with others and why do we care about a caregivers presence in a child's life? The presence and affection exhibited by the caregiver onto the child will allow a child to be able to trust and be vulnerable with their caregiver and others. These skills of trust and vulnerability can be difficult for those whose caregivers were absent in the past or if they never received any affection from their caregiver as a child. The attachment type a child develops as a child, stays with them as they grow into adulthood. Two attachment types include a secure or insecure attachment. A secure attachment is defined as a person being able to be vulnerable and to trust others easily. On the other hand, those who inhibit an insecure attachment type have trouble trusting and interacting with others. The attachment type a child inhibits at a young age, directly affects the relationships they make as they age.

In my paper I also used a psychology theory called the Attachment Theory of Love, to drive home my point of the correlation between childhood development and future relationships. This theory claims that a caregiver's actions towards a child affects the intimate relationships they have when they are older. As I mentioned the attachment types (secure or insecure), this theory is basically stating that the attachment type a child inhibits when their younger, affects their future dating lives.

Above is a to have a visual understanding of the different attachment types. In the image, the different Charlie Brown cartoon characters are demonstrating the different attachment type each character has. Both Charlie and the piano kid Schroeder depict an insecure attachment as Charlie is depicted as being fearful to seek an intimate partner. On the other hand, Schroeder demonstrates a dismissing action as he buries his head in his piano and is not seeking any interest from others. From the cartoon, both of these characters demonstrate this insecure attachment type which ties into their low proximity in seeking a partner. Maybe as children their relationship with their caregiver’s affected the attachment types they both inhibit as they have grown into puberty.

As I wrap up, the main importance I strove to drive home in my research paper is how caregivers can do more for children at a young age to prevent the children from inhibiting an insecure attachment type. As adults, it is important for us to acknowledge the impacts you can have on either your younger siblings, cousins, or children when you decide to settle down. We all have an impact on children's development and it's important to be aware of our role in their lives.