Attachment in Early Childhood: The Foundation of Teaching and Learning.

Why Every Teacher Should See Attachment as Part of Their Core Practice

I think attachment is essential during infancy and the early years of development. It shapes how children see the world, how they trust others, and how they begin to understand their own emotions. While many people think attachment belongs exclusively to parents, research and everyday classroom experience show that attachment is also central to early childhood education.

Children must form warm, secure bonds with their teachers. These early relationships are not optional; they are essential. Without emotional safety, there is no meaningful learning. Without connection, there is no curiosity, exploration, or confidence. As author and psychoanalyst Erica Komisar explains, a child’s emotional needs do not pause when they enter school; they transfer to the next available caregiver who is present, nurturing, and consistent. Similarly, child development specialists like Dr. Emen emphasize that emotionally responsive teachers play a crucial role in shaping a child’s early social-emotional skills, stress regulation, and long-term resilience.

Attachment Is the Beginning of Every Classroom Relationship

Before a child can learn letters, shapes, or numbers, they must first learn you, your voice, your tone, your compassion, and your reliability. Bonding with a teacher is often the very first model children have for future student-teacher relationships. These early experiences influence how they approach school for years to come.

When a child cries during the adjustment period, it is not misbehavior; it is communication. They express a fundamental human need: attachment and belonging. Some children bond quickly; others take longer. Some trust easily; others require patience and gentle persistence. But the goal is always the same: helping each child feel secure, confident, loved, and nurtured.

Attachment does not discriminate. No matter a child’s age, race, cultural background, or language, the desire for connection is universal. Love is the one force that unifies us all.

Why Attachment Matters for Learning

Children thrive academically only when they feel emotionally safe. Research across early childhood education shows that secure attachment leads to:

• Increased attention and engagement

• Better social-emotional development

• Stronger communication and peer relationships

• Improved problem-solving and persistence

• Greater resilience to stress and frustration

• In other words, attachment is not separate from teaching; it is the foundation of teaching.

How Teachers Build Attachment Every Day

Attachment does not require special equipment, advanced degrees, or complex strategies. It grows from consistent, warm, and responsive interactions; the heart of what great teachers already do.

Here are core practices that build secure teacher–child attachment:

• Use calm, reassuring voices. Children regulate through your tone.

• Greet each child warmly every day. This signals belonging.

• Get down to child level and maintain eye contact. Presence shows connection.

• Validate feelings. “You’re sad because mommy left. I’m here to help you.”

• Provide words when children cannot speak for themselves. You become their emotional interpreter.

• Offer hugs or gentle physical reassurance when appropriate. Touch builds trust.

• Show genuine interest in who each child is. Ask questions, learn their preferences, and celebrate their uniqueness.

• These simple, intentional actions become powerful emotional messages: You matter. You are safe. You belong here.

Our Responsibility as Teachers and Administrators

Teachers and school leaders share one unified mission: to create learning environments where attachment can flourish. We are responsible for earning children’s trust, not demanding it. We must create classrooms that feel like emotional homes, not just academic spaces.

When we prioritize attachment, transitions become smoother, behaviors decrease, and learning accelerates. Most importantly, children begin to see school as a place where people care deeply about them.

Attachment is the beginning of empathy. It is the first social-emotional lesson we can offer a child, not through worksheets or formal instruction, but through everyday moments of connection. It is natural, human, and transformative.

Final Thought

As educators, we may teach many lessons throughout the year, but the lesson children remember for a lifetime is how we made them feel. When a child feels loved, seen, and secure, everything else becomes possible.

Attachment is not just a developmental concept; it is our greatest teaching tool.