ABSTRACT
If the period of infancy, with its high level of dependency, can be seen as the perfect opportunity to learn about security and trust, then the period between one and three years of age presents the ideal circumstances for children to begin to learn confidence in their own independent and autonomous strivings. This chapter describes what happens within the attachment relationship during the period of approximately one to three years of age. It discusses attachment perspectives on the development of autonomy and the implications for caregiving during this period. There is marked variability in the way attachment behaviours are expressed, how intense they are, and what activates them, both between children and for an individual child over time. The chapter also discusses multiple attachment relationships with reference to what is known about attachment hierarchies, particularly in the context of child care.
