Comfort your baby by holding the child close, rocking or talking quietly if they are crying or upset. Bowlby J. Attachment. 2. Vol. 1. London: Hogarth Press; 1969. Attachment and loss. New Jersey Birth to Three Early Learning Standards. (2013). New Jersey Council for Young Children.
Positive parenting practices impact the development of children’s attachment and self-regulation abilities. Parents who are sensitive and responsive to children’s moods and emotional states help calm them. This makes children feel secure.
A study on naturalistic arousal patterns in infants and parents found that they can affect one another’s emotional states. Hence if the parent is stressed, the baby will sense it and become stressed. The more responsive the parent was, the faster the infant could be soothed.