ABSTRACT
Attachment is vital in developing a strong sense of self in the child and an empathetic understanding of others. A child learns confidence from the attachment figures, that they will be available to him whenever desired, and will provide loving, supportive, and predictable caring. John Bowlby held that the predictions that a child makes of how attachment figures are likely to behave towards her are reasonable extrapolations from the way adults have behaved in the past, and that this insecurity continues into her adult behavioural repertoire. Allan Schore has emphasized that there is a critical window of opportunity for a child to develop secure attachments. The mother will have an awareness of her child's inner experience, and will sense when he is attuned or misattuned. R. Ridgway and Hay House argue that the bonding of an infant to his mother occurs both pre-conceptually and throughout the pregnancy, as the infant and mother unite through shared senses.
