Strengthening Attachment Through Social Play
Like all childcare centers, Banner Lake Early Learning Center is a very busy place. Even with low student to teacher ratios, it is difficult to give each baby and young child the amount of one-on-one time and attention that they need and deserve. A caregiver must be intentional about providing an attuned presence during daily tasks and activities. This is difficult while caring for a class of children, even with multiple adults in the room. At our center one of the ways that we meet this challenge is through Baby Doll Circle Time, which is a part of our Conscious Discipline Curriculum. The goal is to increase the quality of the relationship between children and caregivers by strengthening attachment, attunement, and social play.
Attachment is a word used to describe the child’s emotional bond to their primary caregiver(s). If a child has a secure attachment, then they allow caregivers to comfort them and are comfortable exploring their environment. Children that do not have a secure attachment have trouble being comfortable and can become anxious or reluctant to explore and learn new things. Attunement is the act of being aware and responsive to another person. It is the conscious focus of attention; it is not something that can be done by accident. Social play is something that we can see even in young infants when they smile, coo, and imitate facial expressions, it includes games like peek a boo or pat-a-cake. These interactions give caregivers a way to sustain a child’s engagement in the activity which forms mental models of attention.
During a session of Baby Doll Circle Time, children interact with their baby dolls as a group. They will do songs, fingerplays, and rituals. These are the same interactions that are done by caregivers with each child as they can throughout the day. Every time they play with their babies, the children reexperience the connections made with their caregivers. This means that each interaction they have with a caregiver can be experienced multiple times, even in a class full of children.
