Your child’s social development is part and parcel of all of the other developments described above. For example, your baby is near-sighted at birth and does not focus very well. By the end of the first month, however, vision has improved and your infant can make visual eye contact with you. This is always a wonderful event as, in that moment, you get the wonderful feeling that you are dealing with a real person.
From day one, your infant prefers human voices to all other sounds and responds positively when he hears your voice. Towards the end of the first year, thanks to loving care and attention, your baby is able to construct a mental image of you, which increases his attachment to you. But this same mental image and attachment, makes the infant leery of those who don’t fit that image. We see this wariness in the appearance of separation and stranger anxiety. The appearance of separation and stranger anxiety at the same time as the child has become emotionally attached to you, and can mentally represent you in her absence, is but another example of the interplay of emotional, social and intellectual processes in your child. Understanding what underlies behaviors like stranger anxiety and separation anxiety enables you to do a more effective, and more relaxed, job of parenting and supporting your child’s healthy growth and development.