Assignment 1: Thinking about Lifespan Development
Section One: Summary of key developmental ideas
The attachment theory (Drewery and Claiborne, 2014) is a crucial theory in the field of human development that continues to influence the way we view families as a society and is applicable across most cultures. The theory is derived from psychiatrist, John Bowlby (1951) and describes the concept as, “the naturally occurring bond between infants and their parents, particularly the mother” (Drewery and Claiborne, 2014).
The attachment theory suggests babies are born with the need to form attachments and this bond is integral to their emotional development. If sufficient bonding is not achieved and maintained between mother and child during this …show more content…
In today’s society main focus has been shifted away from the typical nuclear family to spending time, establishing and maintaining critical bonds with their children and partner with whom they are not married to. My own family reflects this current trend, placing little importance in spending time with family and establishing and maintaining a strong family structure, and instead leaving their children in full-time care and focusing on establishing a firm position within their social hierarchy and generating an income able to support the lifestyle they …show more content…
Therefore, I will be following my own parents’ decision and adapting it as it my own which is to put off having a family until much later in life until after I have graduated University and am in a secure career with plenty of room for potential promotions. When I have my own children I will strive to place a greater importance on the family although this will be a difficult task due to only having “14 weeks’ maternity leave” available until I am required to return to the traditional 40-hour working week. This means there is less time readily available for me to develop the natural maternal bond with my children following this general guideline expected of women in the 21st century as this New Zealand legislation is serving to dictate women’s lifestyle choices. There is also nine to 50-hour subsidy available depending on the circumstances for me to place my children into child care. This is sufficient encouragement from the government to enrol my child and return to work, even though the care with my child may be insufficient for optimum emotional development. This is because “the adult-child ratio for children under the age of two is 1:5” (legislation New Zealand, 2016) and therefore, it would be unrealistic to expect the child to be able to bond with a caregiver and develop positive
Section One: Summary of key developmental ideas
The attachment theory (Drewery and Claiborne, 2014) is a crucial theory in the field of human development that continues to influence the way we view families as a society and is applicable across most cultures. The theory is derived from psychiatrist, John Bowlby (1951) and describes the concept as, “the naturally occurring bond between infants and their parents, particularly the mother” (Drewery and Claiborne, 2014).
The attachment theory suggests babies are born with the need to form attachments and this bond is integral to their emotional development. If sufficient bonding is not achieved and maintained between mother and child during this …show more content…
In today’s society main focus has been shifted away from the typical nuclear family to spending time, establishing and maintaining critical bonds with their children and partner with whom they are not married to. My own family reflects this current trend, placing little importance in spending time with family and establishing and maintaining a strong family structure, and instead leaving their children in full-time care and focusing on establishing a firm position within their social hierarchy and generating an income able to support the lifestyle they …show more content…
Therefore, I will be following my own parents’ decision and adapting it as it my own which is to put off having a family until much later in life until after I have graduated University and am in a secure career with plenty of room for potential promotions. When I have my own children I will strive to place a greater importance on the family although this will be a difficult task due to only having “14 weeks’ maternity leave” available until I am required to return to the traditional 40-hour working week. This means there is less time readily available for me to develop the natural maternal bond with my children following this general guideline expected of women in the 21st century as this New Zealand legislation is serving to dictate women’s lifestyle choices. There is also nine to 50-hour subsidy available depending on the circumstances for me to place my children into child care. This is sufficient encouragement from the government to enrol my child and return to work, even though the care with my child may be insufficient for optimum emotional development. This is because “the adult-child ratio for children under the age of two is 1:5” (legislation New Zealand, 2016) and therefore, it would be unrealistic to expect the child to be able to bond with a caregiver and develop positive