Child theory
My report is on a child called jack who is 4 years old and goes to nursery 5 days a week.Jack has a speech and language delay so a speech language therapist comes in and helps him with his speech and language delay.Jack finds hard to communicate and play with other children.Jack also has tooth decay and finds hard to brush his teeth so child smile come in and shows him how to brush his teeths.Jack has created an emotional attachment with his mother.
John Bowlby 1907 to 1990 was a psychoanalyst. John Bowlby theory off attachment suggest children are pre-programmed to form attachments with others to help them live indenpently and to help them to survive. Bowlby mentioned that babies need a central person or form of a mother to create an attachment . Babies inherit the communications from the parents or carer such as grasping, crying and clinging to keep a mother or the carer close to them.Jack starts crying when his mother drops him to nursery and gets happy when his mother comes to pick him up. Jack has a secured attachment with his mother and knows she will also be there for him when he needs her. John Bowlby states the first five years are the critical early years of attachment that should occur .If a child has made a secure attachment with someone close he will have a successful life and will be confident on whatever they do in life.From the learning theory webpage Bowlby mentions that if a child suffers from maternal deprivation it will have a negative consequence on his development he will suffer from depression,aggression,delinquency, and affectionate psychopathy(a person who does not care about anybody’s feelings).Maternal deprivation is separation or loss from the mother or failed to create a bond of attachment with the mother.Jack has a secure attachment with his mother and knows she will be always their for him when he needs her.Jacks mother will always support Jack in his school and get help for his speech and language delay to make him successful.
2.According to the attachment theory article website Bowlby used the studies used the theory of Harlow of the rhesus monkeys to support his theory on maternal deprivation.Harlow showed that monkeys who suffered for separation and isolation had emotional and social problems when they were older.Monkeys that failed to form attachment with their mothers they grew up to be aggressive and had problem communicating with other monkeys.Harry research supported the bond between a mother and a child in important for the children for emotional and social development. Another research to support john bowlbys theory was spiltz and wolfs.Rene spitz and Katherine wolf done an observation on 123 babies during the first five years of the babies life.Babies were cared by unmarried mothers in a penal institutions. When infants were between six and eight month old their mothers were moved to another block of the building and the children were looked after by other people.The child either did not see the mother for the three months of separation at all,or at best saw her only once a week.Each child was looked after by a mother of another children or a women who was in her last stages of pregnancy.Spitz and wolf noticed that children who were separated from their mothers cried a lot more than the would normally,had lost their appetites and failed to gain weight.When the babies reunited with their mothers their conditions were better as they were with their mothers.This study showed that there are short term affects of maternal deprivation.In my case study jack cries a lot when his mother drops him to nursery just for a couple of hours.When Jacks mom drops him to nursery he shows he is upset and he deos not want his mother to leave him because he has created an emotional attachment with her.When jacks mother comes to collect him from the nursery he gets really excited and happy.Bowlby did not mention that children can build multiple attachments with other people.Bowlby also did not look at other factors can cause emotional disturbance to a childs development for example family conflict.Micheal rutter and his colleagues studied a group of nine to 12 years in the isle of Wight.Micheal rutter stated that complete deprivation(failure to form bonds) was the most cause of emotional disturbance.Rutter believed that children can recover early deprivation.Adopted children can form bonds with adoptive parents even if they are adopted after months of their birth. Families conflict and dysfunction were to be more harmful to emotional development than maternal separation.Strange environment were to blame for emotional disturbance than separation from the primary caregiver.Some children were more stressed than other children in childhood.Micheal rutter stated in his theory that children can have the opportunity to form attachment in an early years setting.This can promote the childs emotional development.An early years environment should be warm,welcoming,nurturing and be responsive to childrens need.This promotes the emotional security of the child.Children can recover from early deprivation.The early years worker can support children to form attachments In the nursery setting.This will promote emotional,social and personal development.
3.Applying Bowlby theory to practice
Bowlby mentions that early years practitioners should understand that emotional attachment is important to allow children to allow children to have healthy emotional development.In a early years setting the keyworker should support children to build a positive relationship with others and attachment with others to support them to develop healthy emotional development.The keyworker should understand that children are upset when they start nursery and are separated from the main care giver.The keyworker should give the child time to settle in and provide a safe and secure environment for the child.The nursery should gave the child visits when starting nursery.This will get the children used to the nursery environment and ease transition.Parents can stay with the child to help him settle in the nursery and build a trust relationship with others.The child can build a trust relationship with the keyworker
1.Tina bruce was a respected academic and theorist of the play area based on the learning and the early years development.Bruce states that children don’t learn play but they instead practice what they have learned in play.Tina bruce also states that play transforms children because it helps them to function beyond the here and now.They can become involved in thinking about the past,and can use the past to imagine about the future.They can also try different ways of doing things,it can help them to problem solve and to experiment.It helps them to work out what they think and feel. Tine Bruce believed that play is an active process not something that reaches a potential goal or produces a product,and providing toys is not needed because children can come up with their own ideas and props using materials such as sticks and pebbles.Tina bruce states that activities should allow children to wallow into ideas,feelings and relationships.Tina bruce states that childhood play turns adult creativity.Play should allow children to apply competence and technical process which they have already achieved.The role of the adult should be support children in quality play by finding a balance of help by giving them to little help or lots of help.Children should have enough equipment to allow them to negotiate and develop social skills in order for them to play.The 12 aspects of play are first hand of expirence,children make up rules as they play,children make props,children choose to play,children rehearse their future,Children pretend when they play,children play alone and togather,children have a personal agenda,children become deeply involved when they play,try out recent learning and children co-ordinate in to ideas,feeling and relationship for free flow play.Plays involves children to innovative,original,imaginative and creative,children use first hand expirence when they play.Play allows children to explore,discovery,manipulate and practice.Play will allow Jack to communicate and engage with other peers in his nursery.Play will help Jack to communicate and learn language and also help to expand his speech,language and communication skills.
2. Margaret McMillian supported Tina Bruce play.According to the children and play website McMillian believed that children learn by exploring and they achieve their goals through first hand experience and active learning through free play especially with craft and water activities..Piaget also believed that children sometimes do chose to play alone or play with others to explore the world around them.
3.In practice I see children using first hand experiences and they rehearse their future through role play.Children like dressing up and act like being doctars,dentist,police and fireman.Children often sit alone when to play even if they are encouraged to join.Children who are not feeling well often sit alone and don’t participate.Children adapt their play props for example a necklace can be put in a toy plate in place of food.Children pretend in play when they use their imagination to act out a character out a book and use language the character would use.Children sometimes pick up a block of a brick and pretend it is a phone.Children can even act out in a real life situation for example in the homecorner children can act out like moms and dad and what they roles are in everyday life.Children can play with adults and children cooperatively in groups or pairs.Children make up rules in order to keep control in practice children can makeup rules when they are playing games and make sure that everyone follows them.
