Responding to Your Infant’s Signals:
“We [emphasize] the role of early relationships in affect development and in the acquisition of affect regulating capacities. These are complex developmental processes, however, that are influenced by other factors as well, including temperament and neurobiological structures and functions, and the reciprocal interactions between these endowments and the early social environment.” Taylor, Bagby, and Parker, Disorders of Affect Regulation, (p. 24)
“When the infant’s caretakers act to soothe and hold it, the infant internalizes the qualities and functioning of its caretaking environment. This will have an effect on how the infant perceives and experiences danger, tolerates affects, and develops a capacity to allay its own anxieties.” Ivri Kumin, 1996, p. 27.
“You ask about crying—Jessie cried a lot. Sometimes it seemed non-stop. In the old days they would have said she had colic, now they attribute it to all kinds of problems with allergies, foods, exposure to smoke. She cried so much that it was impossible to know what she wanted or needed. It wasn’t until she was several months old that it stopped. By then both she and I were worn out. I have three other kids, 8,4, and 2, and it’s been tough sometimes. With Jessie, I have to make a special effort to pay attention when she cries or fusses. My inclination was to ignore it a little bit. But now that’s she’s getting bigger she can be consoled, I can actually do some good for her. I just have to learn not to shut down when she starts to crank up the volume. I have to remember she is sending me a message and I need to try to figure out what it is. Is she tired? Hungry? Sick? Anxious? Usually these days, I figure it out. And sometimes my other kids are a real big help is identifying the cause..”
–Marie, 40, mother of four
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