When the attentive and responsive adult comes to the crying infant, two very important things happen. The baby feels the pleasure of being regulated after being distressed—and also experiences the sight, smell, touch, sound, and movement of human interaction. The loving sensations provided by the adult caregiver start to become associated with pleasure. In thousands of moments, when the caregivers respond to the needs of the infant, the brain is connecting relationship to reward and regulation. And so, when you are an attentive, attuned, and responsive caregiver to these little ones, you’re
...more
