David interviewed Glen Cooper and Michelle Ball about an innovative programme called Circle of Security®.
This intervention program is designed to alter the development pathway of parents and their young children. It is based on fifty years of early childhood attachment research and uses video-based intervention to strengthen the ability of parents to observe and improve their caregiving capacity.
The research regarding attachment parenting originated in England in the 1940s and challenged the dominant trends at the time with its strong focus on the relationship between children and their parents.
Attachment theory argues that much of the relationships we have with friends, family, and members of our wider community are the product of our early formative years as a child. If negative experience gets in the way of forming a well-balanced relationship between parents and children, this can affect the way in which children then see the world and understand it later in life. An important part of this programme that Glen and Michelle stressed is that children that feel who feel safe and secure, have more confidence to explore their wider surroundings. A key idea that Glen and Michelle discuss is that it is not a parent's behaviour that will have the strongest impact rather it is the state of mind of the parent that will have the strongest influence on a child's development. Such findings suggest a focus on early childhood can pay enormous dividends in future years for families and communities.
Glen is a family therapist from Washington and is currently in New Zealand promoting this programme. Michelle Hall is part of Attune Consulting with specialises in attachment parenting programmes.
To listen to this fascinating interview, click here.