A child's ability to grow emotionally, make relationships with others and learn effectively can depend on the sense of safety and confidence they derive from having a secure attachment in infancy, says Anne O'Connor

Q: Why are secure attachments important?

Secure attachments provide a safe base for a child, reducing fearfulness and stress while building confidence and self-esteem. As Maria Robinson writes in From Birth to One - The year of opportunity: 'The child who is loved, encouraged, respected and comforted is able to learn about the world in a context of emotional safety, and about themselves as fundamentally loveable' (p41).

This is what we want for all children, but a child who does not experience these things, who doesn't feel 'safe' or 'loveable', is likely to demonstrate this in challenging behaviours and probably will not only find making relationships difficult, but is likely to be too stressed to be able to learn.

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