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Lluvia Rodriguez

Early Childhood Education 252

Ms. Cheryl Brecheisen

October 10, 2012

Attachment Observation

Part A

1. The gender of the child I observed was a little boy who is 2years and 6 months. The

time of this observation was from 8:30 AM to 9:15 AM. In the classroom there was

the teacher, an assistant and three toddlers.

2. As the little boy arrived into the classroom at 8:45 he walked in holding his mother’s

hand. The mother told him to hang his coat and backpack in his cubby. As the little

boy put his things away in his cubby, the mother signed him in the roster notebook

and had a few words with the teacher. Once the little boy put his coat and backpack in

his cubby he immediately returned to his mother side and took hold of her hand again.

The mother then walked over to the cubby shelf and on took a few toys of the shelf

and sat in the carpet with the boy. She played with the boy for about three minutes

then got up and told him “baby hold on, your teacher wants to talk to me”. The boy

continued playing and would turn his head back to see that his mom was still there.

He continued playing, and the mom left quickly out the classroom. She left at 8:57

AM. She was approximately there for twelve minutes.

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Part B

1. From my observation, the attachment behaviors I saw the child displaying was that he

knew his mommy was going to leave and he wanted to be next to her and attached to

her by holding her hand and by having her next to him throughout the whole time.

Another attachment behavior was that as he was playing in the carpet he would

continuously turn his head back to check that mommy was still there. Once he turned

his head the fourth time and saw that she wasn’t in the classroom anymore, he

immediately ran to the door and started crying. While standing in front of the door he

would kick it and through himself on the door.

2. From my observation the mother had no respond. From my point of view it seemed as

if the mother was use to dropping him off and walking out when he wouldn’t look. I

did notice that she walked into the observation room so she had a very clear view if

what the child’s behavior was like after she was gone.

3. Once the caregiver saw that the child was crying and kicking and throwing himself on

the door she immediately picked him up and told him “It’s okay, mommy has to go to

class and she’s going to come for you” then she sat with him, holding him in her arms

and lap in a rocking chair for about ten minutes. As she held him, she also sang to

him. I noticed that the child calmed down, he stopped crying and relaxed. From my

point of view the teacher’s actions were very comforting to the child.

4. From my point of I think that in this case the parent was glad that the caregiver was

able to manage and control the child’s behavior and she had no problem with the

attachment between the child and the teacher. Because the parent was in the
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observation room throughout the whole time, she was able to see the relationship

between the child and the caregiver and did not interfere.

Part C

1. The attachment behaviors I saw the child displaying was (1) he would hold his

mother’s hand to make sure she would stay there with him,(2) as he was playing by

himself he would continuously turn his head to see that his mom was within his sight,

(3) once the mother walked out the room he started crying, and would kick and

through himself onto the door.

2. The evidence of the attachment dance that I observed from the caregiver to the child

was (1) the caregiver was paying full attention to the child’s behavior once the parent

was out of the classroom. (2) Instead of asking, the caregiver picked up the child and

sat down with him holding him in her arms and the child did not hesitate, instead the

child allowed her to comfort him. From my point of view, I believe that the caregiver

had a good relationship with the child and he had enough trust to allow her to pick

him up without asking if she could hold him. (3) The caregiver and child seemed very

adapt o this behavior. From my point of view, the caregiver and child seemed in tune

with one another and the DANCE in this situation was lively and comforting to both.

Part D

1. I found this observation pleasing because the caregiver was able to follow through the

responsive process. The caregiver did the correct things she had to do to please the

child as well as herself. The caregiver had total control of the situation and did not
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ignore the child’s needs, rather she knew what his needs were and she made sure she

met them.

2. The advice I would give the mother in this case would be not to walk out on the child.

As a caregiver, I would tell the mother she needs to talk the child and let him know

that she will come back for him, even though she might think that he’s only a toddler

and that he doesn’t understand, by talking to him and telling him what she has to do

and that she will pick him up later will help him deal with his behavior, and he will

have the idea that mommy has to go. Walking out on the child without saying

goodbye makes the child think mommy is not coming back, so it is important to talk

to your child so that he or she will know that they will come back and can perhaps

change their behavior as the child gets older.