Attachment Observation

Attachment Observation

I observed a 27 month old boy at the a day care center. There were 20 other students present during my observation. I observed this child for approximately one hour in the morning and thirty minutes later in the day. During both of the times I was observing the child he had several crying spells. He would not play with the other children. When the class went outside he wanted to stay next to the caregiver and not interact with the other children. When the other toddlers tried to comfort him by hugging him, he shied away and cried even more. The caregiver asked him why he was crying and he stated that he wanted his mother. I noticed that when his mother dropped him off in the morning that he was crying. She held him and took him outside of the classroom and spoke with him briefly. Her speech sounded harsh to me. I was not sure exactly what she was saying but her face was angry and her body language was rigid. She responded very negatively to him. The caregiver gently took the child from his mother and cradled him in her arms until his mother was out of sight. Then she sat down with him on her lap and explained to him that if he needs anything or if he feels sad all he has to do is go to her. She was patient with him, holding his hand quite often, carrying him occasionally, and engaging him in conversation. She also read to him several times which seemed to calm him down.

As that hour went on and later on in the day when I returned to the center, I noticed that he had bonded with the caregiver that had been there when he was dropped off. He was consistently by her side and he cried if she was out of sight. The caregiver continued to give him support. She always spoke to him at his level (height), she was soft in her speech, and she was consistently touching his arm or hand while she was conversing