The sensitive period is likewise important for establishing the type of attachment the infant has to its caregiver. The importance of early attachment began with studies by John Bowlby, who found that babies raised in orphanages and deprived of stable emotional and physical contact were emotionally remote and listless – signs of insecure or avoidant attachment.

The importance of attachment is that it gives children a secure base from which they can comfortably explore their environment. Between 6-8 months of age, babies become wary or fearful of strangers and exhibit separation anxiety if their primary caregiver leaves them. This reaction usually continues until 18 months and can sometimes continue until the child is around 3 years old. During this period, it is crucial that the baby is given stable and sufficient emotional and physical contact in order to develop a secure attachment to their caregiver, a sense of empathy and emotional control.

Margaret and Harry Harlow demonstrated the importance of physical touch and a sense of security in the development of healthy attachment by raising infant rhesus monkeys with two kinds of artificial mothers. The first was a ‘wire mother’, made up entirely of wires. The second was a ‘cloth mother’, covered in ‘cuddly’ foam and cloth. Research showed that the baby monkeys rank to the cloth-mother when startled or afraid, showing that the comfort elicited by the contact of the cloth-mother made her a more secure base to return to.

Longitudinal research has shown that as children grow older, those who were securely attached infants tend to exhibit more independence, self-confidence, and adaptability in different social situations. Contrastingly, insecurely attached infants tend to have lower self-esteem, struggle to form affectionate relationships in their later years, and tend to mistrust others.

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By Devki Kalra