What Monkeys Tell Us About Love

When a baby is born it is essentially unattached emotionally despite the physical dependency that is all encompassing. The attachment begins as the baby's needs are provided for (warmth and food) in a nurturing environment. Early studies by Harlow on monkeys demonstrated the need for the nurturance beyond physical needs. He put baby monkeys in cages. Each had both a wire monkey-mother that dispensed milk and a cloth monkey-mother that did not. Both were on a heated pad. The babies were fed by the wire monkey, were free to roam around the cage and choose where to be. They spent increasing amount of time with cloth mother although she provided no milk. In another experiment, some baby monkeys were put in cages with only wire monkey who dispensed food and were heated, while others were put in cages with cloth mothers who dispensed the same food and were also heated. The babies in the cage with the cloth mothers thrived; those with the wire mother did poorly.
Ample evidence also exists for children raised in orphanages that provide only physical care without affection. These children are under-developed in every measurement and some do not survive. This is called failure-to-thrive and represents the critical importance of love and nurturance.
Of course, attachment is so much more than simply thriving physically. It is building a bond with a person that assists the child in its ability to build bonds in the future. For more on attachment, Dr. Bruce Perry has a website that describes how babies grow with attachment and how teachers can develop attachment with their students that aid in learning. For information on attachment go to: http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional/bruceperry/attachment.htm
For a subscription service that facilitates family members to form attachment with a baby in a distant location, see www.toyconnex.com.