Session 4/15

Page 4/5: The Secure Base and Exploration: Play and social contact with others

The Secure Base and Exploration: Play and social contact with others

If the baby learns to separate without too much fear, you have given it a Secure Base. A baby with a secure base does not have to exhaust itself with fear of separation, crying and clinging, because it feels secure. So when you work with children, you should always start with being there and not move too much around. If you stay where you are near the child, the child will become calm and have no fear that you are leaving.

Only if you give the child a secure base, another behaviour system can take over: The Exploration System. So you “turn off” the Attachment System (the alarm) by being calm and present, and this automatically “turns on” the Exploration System.

A secure child who believes that the caregiver will stay nearby, will start moving away from her, play with things, be curious, explore the world, learn, make contact with other children and experiment.

This is called exploration behaviour, and it is extremely important for child development. Healthy children only cling to their caregivers for a short while until they feel secure. Then they start playing, exploring, etc. This is the only way they can learn about the world and be motivated for learning later in life. So, secure children learn a lot more and make more friendships than insecure children who spend their energy trying to avoid separation.

For example, you take a child into a new group of children. At first, it will cling to your leg and cry (attachment behaviour), but if you stay in the same place and remain calm, the child will crawl way from you, play with the toys, and make contact with other children (exploration behaviour). If you get up and walk away, the child will stop exploring and come back and cling to you again to stop you from leaving (attachment behaviour).

QUESTIONS

Can you remember seeing children cling to you and cry when you leave?
How do you practice separation when leaving a child or attending to another child?
How do you stay with the children and give them a Secure Base?
When do you see a child feeling so secure that it crawls away from you and starts playing with other children or with things and toys?
How can you do the exercises “peek-a-booh” and “hide and seek” in your daily practice?

Are there children who do not explore and play, but cling to you all the time? How can you make them feel more secure?
What is it the day care mother in the video does to make the children feel secure?
Why does this way of acting (staying on the floor, sitting still most of the time) make the children explore?
How do you react when the children cry because they are left alone?
Do you become irritated or are you calm?
Can the children see you most of the time when they are awake?

Day care mother working on making the children feel secure

CHECKLIST FOR UNDERSTANDING

How can you recognise attachment behaviour?
What can the caregiver do to give the child a secure base?
How do you teach children to separate without too much fear?
How can you recognise exploration behaviour?
Why is exploration behaviour so important for child development?

ACTIVITY SUGGESTION

Watch the video with the day care mother. Notice how she stays in the same place on the floor and thereby makes a secure base. The children start exploring because she does not move very much. Reflect on how you can provide a secure base in your activities with the children in your care.
Reflect on your daily work: After understanding the importance of attachment and exploration, are there any improvements you may want to make in your daily practices with the children?
If so, can you set up a plan – what will you do differently, when will you start, how will you evaluate the results?