The central theme of attachment theory is that primary caregivers who are available and responsive to an infant’s needs allow the child to develop a sense of security. The infant knows that the caregiver is dependable, which creates a secure base for the child to then explore the world.

Oxytocin, commonly heralded as the bonding hormone, is known to be released in large amounts during birth and breastfeeding to help regulate maternal bonding in mammals. However, less well known is that fathers experience rises in oxytocin equal to mothers as a result of interacting with their infants.

Bowlby’s evolutionary theory of attachment suggests that children come into the world biologically pre-programmed to form attachments with others, because this will help them to survive. A child has an innate (i.e. inborn) need to attach to one main attachment figure.

The Wire Mother Experiment Harlow removed young monkeys from their natural mothers a few hours after birth and left them to be “raised” by these mother surrogates. The experiment demonstrated that the baby monkeys spent significantly more time with their cloth mother than with their wire mother.

Harlow (1958 wanted to study the mechanisms by which newborn rhesus monkeys bond with their mothers. These infants were highly dependent on their mothers for nutrition, protection, comfort, and socialization.

Harlow and his colleagues repeated these experiments, subjecting infant monkeys to varied periods of motherlessness. They concluded that the impact of early maternal deprivation could be reversed in monkeys only if it had lasted less than 90 days, and estimated that the equivalent for humans was six months.

In one version of the experiment, one of the “mothers” was made entirely from the wire while the other was covered with a soft cloth. Harlow found that regardless of whether or not the cloth-covered mother provided food, the infant monkeys would cling to her for comfort.

Years ago I wrote about the three essential Parenting Vitamin A’s namely Affection, Acceptance, and Attention. Affection comes easy to new parents —it’s a hormone thing.

Harry Harlow was a 20th century psychologist who worked with primates. He is best known for his studies on maternal separation and isolation with rhesus monkeys.

A careful analysis shows that Harlow provided an important part of the solid empirical foundation for Bowlby’s theoretical construction. In his turn, Harlow was influenced by Bowlby’s new theorizing. We have described how in two studies on separation (Seay et al.

Jean Piaget Jean Piaget’s

Wire mother was a wire effigy of a “mom,” complete with a nipple and bottle. “She” was for food provision. Cloth mother was soft, designed for clinging, but provided no food.

Harlow’s experiments were controversial; they included creating inanimate surrogate mothers for the rhesus infants from wire and wool. Each infant became attached to its particular mother, recognizing its unique face and preferring it above others.

The infant’s need for physical closeness and touching is referred to as contact comfort. Contact comfort is believed to be the foundation for attachment. The Harlows’ studies confirmed that babies have social as well as physical needs. Both monkeys and human babies need a secure base that allows them to feel safe.

Lack of physical affection can actually kill babies. But touch is even more vital than this: Babies who are not held, nuzzled, and hugged enough can stop growing, and if the situation lasts long enough, even die.

Contrary to popular myth, it’s impossible for parents to hold or respond to a baby too much, child development experts say. Infants need constant attention to give them the foundation to grow emotionally, physically and intellectually.

Your baby knows your scent, touch and the rhythms of your speech and breathing. Marcy suggests that holding your baby also promotes breastfeeding because it helps develop the parent-child bond. Kangaroo care can help your baby by: Encouraging successful breastfeeding and milk production.

Helps your child’s mental well-being. Makes your child physically healthier. Increases your child’s brain development and memory. Creates a stronger bond between parent and child.

The answer to this question is ‘No! ‘ Young babies need lots of attention, and you might worry – or other people might tell you – that if you ‘give in’ too often or give too much attention, it will ‘spoil’ your baby. But this won’t happen.

“It’s always okay to hold an infant under four months old, to put them to sleep the way they need it,” says Satya Narisety, MD, assistant professor in the department of pediatrics at Rutgers University. Always put him or her on his or her back on a flat mattress in the crib or bassinet after he or she falls asleep.

Yes its not good to pick up a baby every time he or she cries or as they wake up from nap.As long as they are well fed and not wet with pee or dirty with poop its ok for them to cry a little bit. Crying exercises babys lungs. And babies knows whenever the parents keep picking up they expect it to happen all the time.

13 Signs Your Baby Loves You

• He knows you’re you.
• She’ll totally flirt with you.
• He smiles, even for a split second.
• He’ll latch on to a lovey.
• She stares at you, so intently it’s practically rude.
• He gives you smooches (sort of)
• She holds up her arms so you’ll pick her up.
• She’ll pull away from you, and then run back.

When your baby is a newborn, they think they are a part of you. As they grow, they’ll start to work out that they’re their own person and develop independence, with your support of course.

The newborn prefrontal cortex – the brain’s so-called “executive” area – doesn’t have much control, so efforts to discipline or worries about spoiling are pointless at this stage. Instead, newborns are learning about hunger, loneliness, discomfort and fatigue – and what it feels like to have these pains relieved.

The early signs that a secure attachment is forming are some of a parent’s greatest rewards: By 4 weeks, your baby will respond to your smile, perhaps with a facial expression or a movement. By 3 months, they will smile back at you. By 4 to 6 months, they will turn to you and expect you to respond when upset.

Children can’t be too attached, they can only be not deeply attached. Attachment is meant to make our kids dependent on us so that we can lead them. It is our invitation for relationship that frees them to stop looking for love and to start focusing on growing.

According to studies, breastfeeding is the most powerful form of interaction between the mother and the infant. Due to the physical closeness, the baby is more close to the mother than to anyone else in the family. As per a few studies, breastfed mothers are closer to their babies as compared to bottle-fed mothers.

How to bond with your newborn

1. Regularly touch and cuddle your newborn.
2. Respond to crying.
3. Hold your baby.
4. Make your newborn feel physically safe.
5. Talk to your newborn as often as you can in soothing, reassuring tones.
6. Sing songs.
7. Look into your newborn’s eyes while you talk, sing and make facial expressions.

Studies have found that about 20% of new moms and dads feel no real emotional attachment to their newborn in the hours after delivery. Sometimes, it takes weeks or even months to feel that attachment. If you haven’t begun bonding with your baby, don’t feel anxious or guilty — it should come with time.