The first couple of years of human life are a miraculous period of growth and development. While this development occurs in all areas, two of the developmental tasks that have a lasting impact on the child’s life are forming a secure attachment with a primary caregiver and developing the neural circuitry for self-regulation.
Play has a role in both developing secure attachment between infants and caregivers and stimulating neural connectivity. I will cover the important impact of play on regulation in a future email. For today, let’s focus on attachment.
An infant experiences the world primarily through sensory experiences. For example, an infant initially finds nourishment through tactile stimulation of the rooting reflex and smell which directs them to their mother’s breast. They not only rely on sensation for physical nourishment, they rely on sensation to interact with their social environment. Scientists have discovered that a newborn’s brain alerts to a single word (“baby”) spoken by their mother (vs. a stranger) (Moon et al., 2015). Initially, a baby’s only means of communication is to cry. Babies cry to get their needs met. It is the caregiver that interprets that cry and responds to the need for hunger, comfort, or sleep.
The consistent responsiveness of the caregiver is vital to establishing attachment. The infant learns that there is someone they can rely on to help when they are in need. This establishes foundations for trust, empathy, understanding relationships, and verbal and non-verbal communication (Rees, 2007).
This responsiveness is soon rewarded. Between six and eight weeks, the infant is smiling, cooing, recognizing the caregiver with excitement… and play ensues.
In this context, play can look like high levels of affect and face-to-face communication (eye contact and smiles). Caregivers elicit a reaction and match the infant’s response. Before toys are introduced, you are the most interesting thing in your child’s world.
At it’s core – play is joining your attention and sharing enjoyment. So.. look that baby in the eye, smile, and respond to their cooing and cries. Show up! Respond as often and the best that you can… even when you have never felt more tired in your life. You are laying the foundation for a gift that lasts a lifetime… secure attachment.
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References
Moon, C., Zernzach, R. C., & Kuhl, P. K. (2015). Mothers say “baby” and their newborns do not choose to listen: A behavioral preference study to compare with ERP results. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2015.00153
Rees C. (2007). Childhood attachment. The British journal of general practice: the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 57(544), 920–922. https://doi.org/10.3399/096016407782317955
Shore, A.N. (2012). The science of the art of psychotherapy. New York, NY: Norton.