Benson 1

ECE 252

Amy Benson
Brecheisen
ECE 252
23 February 2015
Attachment Observation
Part A

1. Give a description of gender and age of the specific child observed (must be between 9
and 30 months), as well as setting (place and size of the group) and length of time
observing. (5 points)
I observed a 26 month old girl being dropped off by her mother at the CSN lab school, and this
was the toddler room with children ranging from 24- 30 months old. There was a master teacher
and one assistant teacher there and four other children that had already arrived. I stayed with this
group for about 40 minutes.
2. Write an objective observation of either arrival or departure time. (10 points)
At this school the drop off happens in their outside play area. The mother and her daughter
walked through the door and down the ramp to meet the teacher. The child was walking on her
own in front of the mother. The child walked up to the teacher and gave her a hug and then the
teacher greeted the mother with a smile and a “good morning” calling the mother by her first
name. They discussed the child’s morning (such as, when she woke up and what she had for
breakfast). The mother then went inside the classroom to drop off her child’s belongings and
then proceeded to come back outside for her goodbye with her child. At the time, the girl had
already started playing in the sensory tub with another little boy and the assistant teacher. She
stopped what she was doing and walked over to her mother where she gave her a kiss. The child
then walked her mom up the ramp and to the door for one last goodbye. This seemed pretty
routine as I saw a few more children do the same thing with their parents. The mother said
“Goodbye baby, I love you. Have a great day at school. Be good and I’ll see you after work.”
The little girl responded with, “I love you mommy. Bye”. The mother walked through the door
and shut it and then saw that her daughter was still standing there looking through the fence so
the mother peered back into the play area and asked the teacher to get her so she didn’t try to
leave with her. The teacher went and took the child by the hand and led her back to the sensory
tub where she was playing before.
Part B- Base the following answers on your objective observation (Part A/2) of the child’s
interaction with their parent. (This is your representation of the objective observation.)

1. What attachment promoting behaviors do you see the child displaying? (5 points)
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ECE 252

The child seemed to be comfortable being dropped off to her teachers at school as she walked in
herself and proceeded to give the teacher a hug. She engaged in play right away as the mother
put her things in the classroom. The attachment behaviors I saw towards her mother was when
she was saying goodbye to her and wanted one more kiss and then another one and then didn’t
leave the fence until the teacher directed her back to the sensory tub. She seemed comfortable
with her teacher and the attachment behavior I am basing my opinion on is the fact that she
walked right up to the teacher for a hug.

2. How does the parent respond? (5 points)

The parent responds with a smile when her daughter gave the teacher a hug. When the child
needed a couple of extra hugs and kisses, the mother obliged and gave her daughter some extra
attention during their goodbye.
3. How does the caregiver respond? (5 points)
The caregiver responded by first giving the child a warm welcome with a smile and a hug. When
the mother asked for the teacher to come get her child so she didn’t stay at the fence, the teacher
did.
4. Can you tell how the parent feels about the child’s attachment to the caregiver? (5
points)
It seemed to me that the parent was happy about the child’s attachment to the teacher and it
seemed to put her at ease. I saw her smile and talk to the teacher and she appeared happy.
Part C- Base your answers on your objective observation (Part A/2) of the child’s
interaction with the caregiver. (This is your interpretation of the objective observation.)

1. What attachment-promoting behaviors do you see the child displaying? (5 points)

The attachment promoting behaviors I saw the child displaying were her own decisions (not
forced) to walk over to the teacher and give her a hug. She then engaged in play with a child and
the assistant teacher right away. There was no struggle for her to arrive at school.
2. What evidence of the attachment dance do you observe? (Caregiver promoting
attachment behavior.) (5 points)
I observed the child walking in on her own and greeting the teacher with a smile and hug. The
teacher reciprocated with a hug and “good morning”. The relationship between the child and
teacher was a two way relationship.
Part D
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ECE 252

1. How did you feel about this observation? (5 points)
After observing this arrival from the 26 month old girl, I felt that this was a friendly environment
where the child felt safe and happy. I saw the teacher and parent relationship was one of respect
and that the child was the concern. I also saw the teacher look for the parent’s cues as to what
she wanted from the teacher. This made me feel that how the teacher’s at this school handle their
relationship with the children as well as the parents, was appropriate, loving and respectful.
2. What advice might you give to the caregiver and/or parent? (5 points)
The only advice I might give the caregiver would have been to go get the child sooner so that the
parent felt comfortable leaving knowing that the child was going back to playing after their
goodbye.