Baby’s secure attachment bonds

Secure attachment bonds mean: feeling secure in relationships. For your baby, this is of course the relationship they have with you. Your baby needs secure attachments.

They want to feel that you love them unconditionally and will always be there for them, for who they are and not what they are capable of or do. With newborn babies this ‘feeling’ is still very simple. As long as they have physical contact – preferably belly to belly – and hear your loving voice, they are readily satisfied. As they become more mobile and start taking excursions into the big wide world, with you as a secure base, then it becomes even more important that you are predictable, accessible, and there for them. They need to be able to trust that you will still be there when they return from their little excursion. In the beginning, these are usually small distances, often within arm’s reach.

Insecure

If you can get up and walk away at any given moment then baby becomes insecure and clamps to you for security so that they don’t miss the boat, and you are gone all of a sudden. In this phase, you see children regularly ‘miss the boat’, crawling behind mommy wailing, or protesting verbally if they cannot crawl. The older your baby gets, the characteristics of your mutual interaction that play a role in secure attachment bonds become more complex.