ABSTRACT
Being a parent is a role that is always changing. From the beginning babies need to be closely and reliably looked after. This gives them the security to become independent. Then they need the space to develop that independence. This will not be a neat linear process and there are no general timescales to follow. It is about being in touch with a baby’s changing needs. As your baby’s capabilities grow, his sense of self also changes. Parents and babies interact differently as the baby becomes mobile and gets a ‘mind of his own’. This process, of course, continues through childhood, with adoles - cence being the real testing ground of whether secure attachments have enabled successful independence.
