ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the third of the key frameworks suggested to support the further understanding of children’s behaviour. This is the magical but sometimes rocky road to how we learn to be the type of person we will become. Each baby is truly a unique individual with, most likely, an inborn temperament. However, how that temperament is modified or enhanced, how the child’s capacities are encouraged or diminished, rests ultimately on the type of experiences the baby will encounter – especially and most importantly their early relationships. The feelings such relationships engender provides the bedrock on which not only the tenor of future relationships may be built, but also attitudes, motivation, feelings of self-worth and disposition towards learning. Therefore this chapter dwells at some length on these early interactions.
