“Attunement is the perfect sync where my child will cry and I will know exactly why” Sarah Mirembe, child psychologist, Right to Improved Child Health (RICH Consult)
At our recent adoptive and prospective adoptive parents get together, we had an open forum where parents could share their worries and their joys about adoption. Sarah joined us and spoke on three key issues: bonding, attunement and attachment.
Adopting a child is an incredibly rewarding experience for many parents whether or not they have biological children of their own however, like most things, it doesn’t come without some worries. One of the biggest worries that parents can have is whether they’ll be able to bond with their adopted child.
Bonding or attachment refers to the emotional connection or the strength of the relationship between one person and another. In parenting terms, bonding is the relationship which develops between a parent and their child.
Bonding is crucial to the healthy development of an infant’s brain during the first two years of their life. It is most is successful when there is constant communication and contact between the mother or primary care giver and baby. In most cases, bonding is easiest when the child is adopted in infancy.
At Malaika Babies’ Home, once a child arrives they’re assigned one carer for the duration of their stay. This is so they can form attachments with their primary care giver and help to ensure healthy development. When an adoptive parent is matched with the child, there is a transitional period whereby the parent is able to spend time bonding with them before taking them home. This is also important for the child to transition the bond that they’ve developed with their carer. As all our children will have already formed healthy attachments this should be a time of great joy for both parent and child as they get to know one another. When the time comes to take their child home there should already be a strong bond developing between them which will only strengthen after more time together.
Could you give a child a loving family? For more information on adoption please send an email to [email protected] or call 0776110304
To watch the rest of Sarah’s presentation, click on the link below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSS2dISFKPU