Bonding with Parents in Infancy Makes Child Mentally Strong and Healthy

A healthy relationship with parents at an early age is crucial for a child's social and emotional development, researchers reveal.

A team of researchers from the University of Iowa found children having a close and intimate relationship with at least one parent during infancy helping to avoid the risks of experiencing emotional and behavioral problems during school days.

"There is a really important period when a mother or a father should form a secure relationship with their child, and that is during the first two years of life. That period appears to be critical to the child's social and emotional development," Sanghag Kim, a post-doctoral researcher in psychology at the UI, explained in a University news release. "At least one parent should make that investment."

For the study, the researchers examined 102 infants, aged 15 months and their relationship with parents.

Later they looked at 86 of the children at age eight. The parents (heterosexual) and children were interviewed separately. Details about the behavior of these children like aggression, disobedience were taken from their teachers.

At the end of the study, Kim and colleagues found a warm, secure and positive bond with at least one parent providing the child enough security needed for a healthy development.

"Some people think the father is not good enough to be the primary caregiver," Kim, who earned his doctorate in sociology at the UI last year, said. "Our data show otherwise."

On the other hand, children not close to either of the parents during the early years were found experiencing worries, fears and aggression at school going age.

The study inspired by the attachment theory has been published in the journal Child Development.