A Bit About my Attachment Project

I am wrapping up my undergraduate degree. This is my last semester. I am doing an independent study on attachment and sleep disturbances. Basically, I am reading articles published by psychologists and writing a paper on the findings.

This weekend, I started reading a book called "Becoming Attached." The first section focuses on what the author calls "maternal deprivation." This refers to the mother/primary care giver and the child being separated for an extended period of time. As I had imagined, this was beyond hard for the mothers and the children, particularly for the children. The book shares the results of many case studies. In some cases, it seemed like the separation caused irreversible damage.

Can you imagine leaving your child for weeks, seeing him/her for an hour once a week, bring him/her home at last, only to find out that your own child is indifferent to you and no longer has a sense of trust in you?

Did you know that up until the 1970's parents were not allowed to stay with their children if the children were hospitalized? In many cases, the parents could go see the children for an hour once a week, that was it.

Call me squishy, but I am sitting here almost in tears! We are lucky to live during these times. I cannot even imagine leaving my Amor Chiquito anywhere for that long, with people who she does not know, people who would not love her and give her the attention that she needs and deserves.

Oops, she woke up! More later!