by Jay Fagan and Glen Palm
One of the most important developmental tasks during infancy and toddlerhood is the formation of the parent–child attachment relationship. Attachment is the long-term process of forming an intense and enduring relationship with an infant to protect them and meet their needs. The attachment relationship between parents and children grows gradually during infancy and toddlerhood.
Infantscrytoelicitaresponsefromparentswhentheyarehungry,tired,experiencephysicaldiscomfort,orwhentheyneedtobecomfortedandsoothed.Cryingencouragesparentstoapproach,pickup,soothe,staynear,andfeedthebabyorotherwisemeettheirneeds.Duringthefirst2monthsaftertheyareborn,babiesfocusontheirinternalfunctionsandseekbiologicalequilibriumtokeepwarm,nourished,rested,andregulatetheirdigestivesystem.Theymayalsorecognizeparentsthroughfamiliaritywiththeirvoiceorsmell.Ataroundage2months,babiescometoprefertheirparentsorotherregularcaregivers.Overtime,babieslearntotrustandexpectthattheirparentscanbecountedontorespondquicklytotheirneeds.Ataroundage7months,babiesha
