Running head: BONDING AND CHILDREN

The Effects of Bonding on Childrens Development

Tynia Albea
The University of Memphis

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Development from birth to adulthood is an ongoing task that is affected by almost

anything. The most crucial part of development is the emotional and physical development
throughout childhood. The proper or improper development is founded upon bonding and
Bowlbys Attachment Theory. These two factors play key roles in the people affected by the lack
of proper attention and the people surrounding them. Whether or not the child is neglected or
receives the physical communication that is necessary to prosper is important in order for a child
of any age to reach emotional normality. And, of course, the emotional stability affects the
physical stability. In addition, the childs necessary needs to grow are not being fulfilled.
Questions arise when parents lack the necessary components to help a child grow. What happens
when a child does not receive the love and attention needed to grow emotionally and physically?
How does the lack of bonding affect a childs mental health? When and how does a poor
attachment cause emotional suffering? Bonding, or the lack thereof, can result in insufficient
emotions and stability, which can lead to eating disorders, anti-social personalities, and cognitive
dysfunction in a child and adults future.
From birth, a child continues to grow physically at a rapid rate. Physical growth is
substantial during the first few years of life. A baby develops all of his/her senses, except sight,
even before and continues to develop keen senses after birth (Winsor, Murrell, Magun-Jackson,
2015). A child grows the most during the younger stages of life, before adulthood. Although
there is no normal growth rate of a childs development, it can be affected, halted or sped up, by
environmental factors. A young girl in a neglectful environment may start her period early and
develop poor cognitive development because of it (Winsor, Murrell, Magun-Jackson, 2015).
Cognitive development is just as, if not more, important than physical development. Interactions
with an attachment figure and a childs environment affect the development of the brain (Winsor,

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Murrell, Magun-Jackson, 2015). What are the relationships necessary for proper functioning of
cognitive development?
The relationship between a parent and child is one of the most important elements in
child development. Attachment Theory is explained as how the child attaches to the parent and
vice versa. For a child, understanding who to depend on is important in growing physically and
mentally. When a child is born, he/she begins looking for that person to attach to, to grow with.
Infants develop a sense of attachment within the first year of life (Sherman, Rice, Cassidy, 2015).
What if the child attaches to the wrong person? What if the child attaches to the parent in a
negative way? The way a child attaches to an authoritative figure can affect them in negative or
positive way. How does the positive differ from the negative? Positive attachments increase
good behaviors in a child and decrease confusion. Unresolved and disorganized attachments
affects the mental stability of a child into adulthood (Joubert, Webster, Hackett, 2012). For
example, when a child attaches to a neglectful parent, he/she develops confusion, which can lead
to cognitive dysfunction. When a child attaches to a positive figure, it is easier for him/her to
grow both physically and mentally with the support of a more authoritative style parent. When
discussing physical growth, one has to understand that the environment that a child grows up in
affects the mental state. This means that in order to grow physically, one has to grow mentally,
as well. Finding an authoritative figure that shows the infant a sense of belonging is key in
cognitive development (Sherman, Rice, Cassidy, 2015). If one does not feel secure in an
environment, the working models of the brain may shut down. If cognition is not progressing,
physical development cannot progress in a necessary manner to child development (Sherman,
Rice, Cassidy, 2015).

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While attachment starts from birth, a bond is what is created from the attachment. In
addition, after the baby concludes that his/her mother is the attachment figure, skin-to-skin
contact is added, which creates a physical attachment along with the mental attachment. A bond,
however, is supposed to be an innate behavior that the baby and mother develop. This
relationship is supposed to give a young child confirmation and not confusion (Winsor, Murrell,
Magun-Jackson, 2015). Over the first few months of a childs life, a child is supposed to develop
emotional stability, learn who to trust through interactions, understand how to express emotions,
and teach him/herself how to interpret situations (Sherman, Rice, Cassidy, 2015). Bonds create
relationships, which are necessary for an infant to thrive during the early stages of life. Bonding
and parenting styles may differ based on the environment that a child is in. While many believe
that an authoritative parenting style is the best, others believe that authoritarian is the best.
Depending on income and security, different bonding and parenting styles can be beneficial
(Winsor, Murrell, Magun-Jackson, 2015). The biggest question is what in a child and mothers
environment affects the relationship so deeply that the act of bonding does not exist.
When a childs environment is stable, and an authority figure develops a beneficial
parenting style, the child can sustain positive and healthy behaviors. When a child attaches to an
authoritative figure, and the connection has a positive effect on the child, development flows a
lot more smoothly and calmly. Unlike in a poor environment, a child in a healthy environment
can learn good social skills, self-confidence, and cognitive skills. Cognition is driven by
interactions through a childs environment and interactions with authoritative figures (Winsor,
Murrell, Magun-Jackson, 2015). Furthermore, the closer a child is to his/her attachment figure,
the better his/her ability to develop better relationships. The ability for a child to develop
relationships also increases healthy thinking patterns. Children in positive environments tend to

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do better in school, participate in more activities, and sustain better, friendlier relationships with
peers (Winsor, Murrell, Magun-Jackson, 2015). Children growing up with attachment figures
with a more authoritative style of parenting rather than a neglectful are also more happy and
calm in difficult situations (Winsor, Murrell, Magun-Jackson, 2015).
In a negative environment with poor communication and attachment, the child may pay
attention to the negative aspects in life rather than the positive. Researchers found that
adolescents in environments with a lack of bonding had more cognitive dysfunction and lack of
attachment to others (Joubert, Webster, Hackett, 2012). The lack of attachment and bonding can
really affect a person in a negative way. When an authority figure is neglectful, a child may
develop behavioral dysfunctions. The lack of attachment also causes poor social skills, which
lead to anti-social behaviors. This behavior leads to immoral behaviors which may include
criminal activities. Neglectful parenting styles provides no sense of direction or understanding
for a child, which leads to dissatisfying personality traits (Winsor, Murrell, Magun-Jackson,
2015). A developing child may act out or seek attention in poor places. Without the positive
factors, as simple as a mother telling her daughter that she is beautiful, a child cannot grow
mentally, and this has a toll on her physical growth. In this more modern world, girls are
obsessed with their appearances. Everyone has to be the perfect size. This idea can lead to poor
cognition and eating disorders. Eating disorders, which can lead to death, often spark from the
lack of positive environmental factors and attachment factors (Winsor, Murrell, Magun-Jackson,
2015). Many other troubles, like eating disorders, affect a childs development due to the lack of
communication.
These developmental and emotional processes that are formed through bonding and
attachment have a long-term effect on an individual. What a child learns growing up is what

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stays with him/her for the rest of his life. Development is substantial as a child, and on cannot
develop properly without the creation of a bond and attachment. Why does all of this matter?
Why is it important that a child grow up with an attachment figure that has no neglectful
tendencies? Neglecting a child can affect the child and his future, and it can affect the people in
his surrounding environment. The lack of attachment and bonding brings out the negative
behaviors and thinking patterns in a child, and the dysfunctions only increase into adulthood.
The lack of self-respect and social skills can lead to poor actions, like committing crimes and
self-harm. Looking at the bigger picture is important; these negative effects that poor bonding
and attachment have on a child in substantial stages of development affect everyone, not just the
child that did not get the opportunity to connect with an attachment figure.

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7
References

Joubert, D., Webster, L., & Hackett, R. K. (2012). Unresolved attachment status and traumarelated symptomatology in maltreated adolescents: an examination of cognitive
mediators. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 43(3), 471-483.
Sherman, L. J., Rice, K., & Cassidy, J. (2015). Infant capacities related to building internal
working models of attachment figures: A theoretical and empirical review.
Developmental Review, 37109-141.
Winsor, D., Murrell, V., & Magun Jackson, S. (2015). Lifespan Development: An Educational
Psychology Perspective. Boston, MA: Pearson.