Megan Wakefield

Instructor Denise M Sidney M. Ed.

October 9, 2019

ECE 252

Week 5-7 Attachment Observation

Part A

1. Give a description of gender and age of the specific child observed (must be between 9 and 30

months), as well as setting (place and size of the group) and length of time observing.

The gender of the child I am observing is a boy, and his age is 28 months. The setting is an at

home daycare, consisting of 2 adults and 7 children. I was observing for 3 and a half hours, from

8am-11:30am.

2. Write an objective observation of arrival time.

Male toddler of 28 months walks in front door holding mothers’ hand around 8:30am. Toddler

lets go of his moms’ hand and runs to one of the caregivers. As toddler runs for caregiver, he

starts to open his arms and then wraps them around the caregiver. Then caregiver walks him over

to a group of other toddlers. He then sits down between two other children. Mother and caregiver

start talking for a minute and then mother walks out of the door, waving to her child with a grin.

Part B - Base the following answers on your objective observation (Part A/2) of the child’s

interaction with their parent. (This is your interpretation of the objective observation.)

1. What attachment promoting behaviors do you see the child displaying?

This child is attached to one of the caregivers because as soon as he walked through the door he

let go of his mother’s hand and couldn’t wait to see the caregiver. When he ran straight for the

caregiver he was smiling and embraced her in a warm hug. To me it looked like he couldn’t wait

to see the caregiver and play with some of his favorite toys. This leads me to believe he has been

coming to this daycare for a while now and is comfortable in the environment.

2. How does the parent respond?

Parent responds with genuine happiness because her child is happy and comfortable where he is.

3. How does the caregiver respond?

Caregiver is thrilled to see toddler and seems like they have a strong bond.

4. Can you tell how the parent feels about the child’s attachment to the caregiver?

I could tell the parent was happy about her child feeling so comfortable and safe in the home care

setting and that she puts 1000% trust in the caregivers.

Part C - Base your answers on your objective observation (Part A/2) of the child’s interaction

with the caregiver. (This is your interpretation of the objective observation.)

1. What attachment-promoting behaviors do you see the child displaying?

He is displaying attachment to the two caregivers but seem drawn to one more than the other. He

is constantly by this caregiver’s side though out the morning. He is wanting to play, asking

questions, and showing off his new tricks.

2. What evidence of the attachment dance do you observe? (Caregiver promoting attachment

behavior.)

The caregiver is truly happy with what she does, and it shows. You can tell she is excited about

each relationship she has formed with the parents and children. Each child has their own

relationship with the caregivers and it’s so fun to watch.

Part D

1. How did you feel about this observation?

I felt it was a good assignment to do. This observation gave me a great inside perspective on

attachment and showed me how important a good relationship between a toddler and caregiver

is. When a toddler feels welcomed and loved by caregiver, they feel comfortable and when a

child is comfortable, they explore. Exploring can lead to all kinds of new discoveries and it all

starts from attachment.

2. What advice might you give to the caregiver and/or parent?

When it comes to attachment in this home daycare setting, I can’t think of any advice. I felt

every child was welcomed warmly and comfortable. Each child was excited to visit the

caregivers. I could see that there was a lot of attachment between caregivers and toddlers.

There was a lot of love in this home.