In the absence of available and responsive caregivers it appears that some children are particularly vulnerable to developing attachment disorders.
The Care for Child Development intervention provides information and recommendations for cognitive stimulation and social support to young children, through sensitive and responsive caregiver-child interactions.
For children, especially is important highly trained and responsive caregivers, small class sizes with low child/teacher ratios, safe and adequate physical environments, and age-appropriate activities focused on enhancing the cognitive and socio-emotional development of the child.
The Anxious-Ambivalent/Resistant strategy is a response to unpredictably responsive caregiving, and the displays of anger or helplessness towards the caregiver on reunion can be regarded as a conditional strategy for maintaining the availability of the caregiver by preemptively taking control of the interaction.
During the second phase (two to six months), the infant increasingly discriminates between familiar and unfamiliar adults, becoming more responsive toward the caregiver; following and clinging are added to the range of behaviours.
Hence, it is difficult to determine whether a positive child response to the provided food leads to responsive feeding by caregivers or vice versa [ 15].
During the second phase, from three to six months, the infant becomes more communicative and responsive to their caregivers.
*RRR = Relative Risk Ratio; n = 764; The reference category is "Responsive feeding style" Caregivers with a controlling feeding style try to control the time, type and the amount of food the child eats.
Non-responsive feeding in younger children is characterized by lack of reciprocity between the child and caregiver, while responsive feeding entails the caregiver acknowledging the child's cues of hunger and satiety [ 33].
To address such inequities, support for families and caregivers in their child-rearing responsibilities and responsive services must be accessible to all families.
