activity 2

Bowlby’s theory of attachment

John Bowlby’s attachment theory stated that a child’s need for a bond with its mother was innate.  Bowlby stated this and must be stricken between mother and baby by the time the baby is five months old. He claimed that this bond with the primary care giver (preferably the mother) is essential to child’s future mental well being and that a significant disruption of this bond within the first five years of the child’s life will affect he child’s personality development in later life.

Due to Bowlby's theory we realise how significant the transition to nursery is. Therefore nurseries have put in place solutions to make this initial separation from the parents easier on the child, for example the settling in period which allows the child to visit and take part in activities at the nursery with their parent present for smaller and smaller time periods each time.


Piaget's theory of cognitive development

Piaget stated that to learn children must explore the world around them and through doing this they develop different schemata, the process of how we do something for example to open a door you must first push down the handle and then pull the door towards you. He believed that in future circumstances the child assimilates and accommodates this schemata to new doors. Piaget believes children progress through four stages of development four different stages of development. The sensory motor stage, the pre-operational stage, the concrete operational stage and the formal operational stage. He believed that children cannot understand a concept before they have reached that cognitive stage.

Piaget's theory has ensured that in early years education children are given the opportunity to explore their surroundings. It has also created the understanding that children must be given the time to learn at their own stage and that they cannot be pushed to learn concepts above their stage of development.