First Attachments

At First Attachments our number one priority is helping parents and primary caregivers foster secure early attachment bonds with their infant and young child. We offer:

Did You Know?

Babies are born ready to engage in relationships.

Dependable and trustworthy primary caregivers are essential for the development of emotional regulation, trust, and attachment security.

Recognizing and responding to your baby’s “big” feelings allows your baby to grow up accepting his or her own feelings as a normal, healthy part of the self.

A secure attachment to one’s primary caregiver is fundamental to healthy relationships, emotional regulation, learning, motivation, exploration, empathy, frustration tolerance, impulse control, resilience, creativity, social skills, and high self-esteem.

First Impressions

An infant’s earliest love relationships (attachments) create lasting core impressions about the child’s self, relationships, and the world.

But what does attachment mean? Simply stated, it is the nature and quality of interactions between a baby/young child and her earliest love relationship(s). Feelings of security are created when the baby can signal distress and have confidence that the person he counts on most will sensitively soothe him while trying to understand the nature of his upset. Over time--and repetition of positive experiences--children slowly develop the ability to manage their own distressing emotions and, as a result, are better able to handle life's challenges and disappointments. The ability to recover from painful feelings and experiences is a hallmark of healthy development.

Another major step in the development of attachment security occurs as babies learn to crawl and walk. While many toddlers can more easily go forth into the world with some daring, others approach moving out into the world with more caution, depending on temperament. During this time of beginning independence many young children need help moving comfortably from their caregiver's lap to explore the environment. It's important to respect a young child's natural fears and mixed feelings about independence, which activate "baby needs" for comfort and reassurance.  When caregivers are aware and understanding about a young child's inner tug of war, "going away" and "coming back" offers the joy of growing up with an emotional safety net of protection. 

Secure primary love relationships enable babies to feel connected, safe, and understood. These children are more likely to do well in school, have higher self-esteem, be able to solve problems, and enjoy positive peer relationships. Attachment security significantly contributes to emotional regulation, empathy, focus and attention, critical and flexible thinking, motivation, creativity, frustration tolerance, self-control, resilience, problem-solving, and social competence. Very importantly, these children can typically resolve conflicts without resorting to aggression or violence.

Now forming:

Let's Talk Baby Talk! for babies 7-10 months & caregivers  

8 Mondays March 10th--April 28th 10:00-11:15 am 

Cost: $320 (10% discount if you "Like" us on Facebook!)

To see our spring offerings click here.