When a child is new to a day care center, they leave the close circle of the family.
For many children it is usually the first time that they leave this circle and they behave insecurely and sometimes also anxiously in the new situation. In the transition phase, it is very important for the child to build a relationship with the educator. When the child feels secure, he or she is happy to go on discovery tours and gets to know the other children and the new environment with great interest.
Through the sensitive behavior of the educator, we promote a positive bonding experience for the child. The more sensitively we react to the children’s needs, the better the bond can develop, because the child feels taken seriously and recognizes a reliability. It is very important for the child that we react constantly and appropriately to the signals sent.
The different types of bindings and how they can be distinguished
- Type A: the unsafe avoiding binding
The children are not restricted in their joy of discovery and do not change their behavior when the caregiver leaves the room. From this we often conclude that the child shows a stable personality. This is mistaken. For the most part, we recognize at a later point in time that the child keeps its needs to itself, because it has too often made the experience that the parents have not responded to its needs enough. This can be seen in the fact that the child can deal badly with frustration and negative emotions.
- Type B: the secure binding
As soon as the reference person wants to leave the room, the child reacts with protest, such as crying or screaming and is hardly comforted by the educators. As soon as the mother is back, the child can be quickly calmed down and immediately devotes herself again to discovering and playing. The children experience that their needs are taken seriously. They have built trust in their reference persons and the environment and are also making good new contacts.
- Type C: the unsafe ambivalent bond
These children show little joy of discovery even in the presence of their parents. They cling to their parents and are hardly interested in the environment. They seem anxious, insecure and reserved. The children have usually experienced very contradictory reactions to their needs and do not feel safe.
- Type D: the insecure disorganized binding
The children react very contradictorily to the separation of their reference persons, e.g. with aggressiveness, anger, cramping of the body, etc. The children may have experienced trauma or distress in the past, which has led to a bonding disorder.
Seraina Krebs, Co-educator, Kita Zug
Photo by Caroline Hernandez on Unsplash
