Caregiver Interactions P1 Flashcards
Name the caregiver-infant interactions
- Reciprocity
- Interactional Synchrony
- Bodily Contact
- Attention
Define Reciprocity
When a similar behaviour is replicated during an interaction. For example:
Mother smiles at infant
Infant smiles back
Define Bodily Contact
When the caregiver and infant touch each other in some way physically during an interaction.
- Hugging
- Holding hands
- Kissing
- Playing with them
Define Interactional Synchrony
When an infant mirrors an action of the caregiver simultaneously to show they are enjoying their company.
- Moving their hands in the same direction
- Making noise at the same time as the caregiver
- Copying their movements like running or jumping
Why are these caregiver interactions important?
They allow for sufficient bonding between the caregiver and child which is crucial for the child to develop healthy attachments to people around them and start relationships.
The child learns to trust others and interact with them in a safe and loving way which can be replicated in a different manner as the child grows older.
What happens if these interactions don’t occur?
A child may develop attachment disorder- This causes a lack of trust for adults and the people around them which means they will likely struggle to build relationships when they’re older.
Children may also do socially unacceptable things or that conflict with common ways of behaving in public or private scenarios. This is a strong indicator they haven’t built healthy relationships in their young age and would be described as having attachment issues.
In what scenarios are attachment issues frequently seen?
Where children have been seriously neglected with a complete lack of attention or mistreated by their family. They will struggle to develop socially and most are permanently damaged from their disturbing childhoods.
- Lack of social skills
- Physical impairment and growth
- Mimicking of the few experiences they’ve had
- Severe neurological damage and stunted development
What are feral children? Name their characteristics and behaviours.
They are children that have grown up either living away from parents to socialise them or with animals in a foreign environment. They are frequently isolated from society and are the subject of folklore and stories surround them as almost mystical creatures that exist on the fringes of humanity.
They have extremely stunted or slowed development
Frequently mimic the actions of animals who they grew up around
Provide evidence that nature is possibly more important than nurture in terms of growing up and getting older
Exist all over the world in a variety of different circumstances to be deemed feral children although the term is used loosely and not an official diagnosis of their situation
