Mothering and Development

The presence of a sensitive mother throughout a child's developmental period is an essential determinant of healthy growth and maturation. The establishment of a solid social and emotional foundation during a child's formative years can not only aid in preparing one's youngster for life in the outside world, it can also instill a beneficial groundwork in the basic concepts of the self (Cassidy, 1990). In order to achieve such noble maternal goals a good mother needs to possess a plethora of fostering characteristics. The most important of such qualities include love, responsiveness, consistency, an eye to encourage and the ability to provide the child with a sense of security. Successful implementation of the aforementioned traits will allow the child to develop a healthy attachment to the mother. This attachment is most often constructed in the stages of infancy. Through the informative and enlightening work of John Bowlby...
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