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Social & Emotional Development
Developing Trust & Emotional Security
Core Finding: SE-TRU-C04

Feeding time can be an important time in the child’s routine for developing trust and emotional security in young children.

FEEDING TIME: AN IMPORTANT PART OF CHILDREN’S DAILY ROUTINE FOR DEVELOPING TRUST AND EMOTIONAL SECURITY

Studies have found that

emotional security

Emotional Security - Emotional wellbeing and a capacity for emotional regulation in the face of stress are at the core of emotional security. Children's emotional security is influenced by the quality of parent-child relations, specifically the quality of parent-child attachments. Emotional warmth, responsivity, and stability in parent-child relations foster the development of secure attachments.1

1. Davies, P. T., & Cummings, E. M. (1994). Marital conflict and child adjustment: An emotional security hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin, 116(3), 387–411. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.116.3.387

can be developed when parents interact sensitively to children during daily routines such as feeding. Breastfeeding or bottle feeding can help in the development of emotional security in infants.

Breastfeeding with skin-to-skin contact is highly recommended. Exclusive breastfeeding is encouraged for at least the first six months, with continued breastfeeding to two years and beyond.

1, 2

  1. Davies, P. T., & Cummings, E. M. (1994). Marital conflict and child adjustment: An emotional security hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin, 116(3), 387–411. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.116.3.387

  2. Oddy, W. H., Kendall, G. E., Li, J., Jacoby, P., Robinson, M., de Klerk, N. H., Silburn, S. R., Zubrick, S. R., Landau, L. I., & Stanley, F. J. (2010). The long-term effects of breastfeeding on child and adolescent mental health: a pregnancy cohort study followed for 14 years. The Journal of Pediatrics, 156(4), 568–574. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2009.10.020

Direct breastfeeding allows skin-to-skin contact with babies. Skin-to-skin contact releases the hormones serotonin and oxytocin in both the mother and baby, which encourages a strong emotional bond and security between them. In addition, the act of holding the baby at the breast provides the perfect distance for mutual gaze and for the baby to bask in the mother’s warmth. Mothers who breastfeed tend to touch their infants more. They are also more sensitive and responsive to their infants’ cues.
1, 2, 3, 4

  1. Davies, P. T., & Cummings, E. M. (1994). Marital conflict and child adjustment: An emotional security hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin, 116(3), 387–411. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.116.3.387

  2. Oddy, W. H., Kendall, G. E., Li, J., Jacoby, P., Robinson, M., de Klerk, N. H., Silburn, S. R., Zubrick, S. R., Landau, L. I., & Stanley, F. J. (2010). The long-term effects of breastfeeding on child and adolescent mental health: a pregnancy cohort study followed for 14 years. The Journal of Pediatrics, 156(4), 568–574. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2009.10.020

  3. Kennell, J., & McGrath, S. (2007). Starting the process of mother-infant bonding. Acta Paediatrica, 94(6), 775–777. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1651-2227.2005.tb01982.x

  4. Zetterström, R. (1999). Breastfeeding and infant-mother interaction. Acta Paediatrica, 88, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1651-2227.1999.tb01293.x

Long-term impacts on child’s cognition and behavior: GUSTO (Growing Up Towards Healthy Outcomes) studies based in Singapore showed that breastfeeding’s impact on brain development may be due to both the nutrients in breast milk and the act of nursing implicit in direct breastfeeding. The nutritional content of breast milk may improve general child cognition, language abilities and gross motor skills, while feeding infants directly at the breast may influence memory abilities.

5
  1. Pang, W. W., Tan, P. T., Cai, S., Fok, D., Chua, M. C., Lim, S. B., Shek, L. P., Chan, S. Y., Tan, K. H., Yap, F., Gluckman, P. D., Godfrey, K. M., Meaney, M. J., Broekman, B., Kramer, M. S., Chong, Y. S., & Rifkin-Graboi, A. (2020). Nutrients or nursing? Understanding how breast milk feeding affects child cognition. European Journal of Nutrition, 59(2), 609–619. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-019-01929-2

Other large-scale international studies suggested that longer durations of breastfeeding are associated with fewer parent-rated behavioural problems and both

internalised

Internalising Behaviours - Encompass a dimension of childhood psychopathology that includes behaviors that are directed inward or are overcontrolled and are associated with several depressive and anxiety disorders. Examples of internalizing behaviors may include fearfulness, somatic complaints, worrying, and withdrawal.2

2. Zeigler-Hill, V., & Shackelford, T. K. (Eds.). (2020). Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. USA: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-24612-3

and
externalised

Externalising Behaviours - Comprises any of a wide variety of generally anti-social acts (i.e., acts that violate social norms and/or are harmful to others). These acts include those that are targeted at another individual (e.g., aggression), as well as acts that may be considered victimless (e.g., substance use). Common childhood externalizing behaviours are marked by emotion dysregulation and include defiance, tantrums, and aggression.2

2. Zeigler-Hill, V., & Shackelford, T. K. (Eds.). (2020). Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. USA: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-24612-3

mental health problems, through childhood and into adolescence.
2
  1. Oddy, W. H., Kendall, G. E., Li, J., Jacoby, P., Robinson, M., de Klerk, N. H., Silburn, S. R., Zubrick, S. R., Landau, L. I., & Stanley, F. J. (2010). The long-term effects of breastfeeding on child and adolescent mental health: a pregnancy cohort study followed for 14 years. The Journal of Pediatrics, 156(4), 568–574. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2009.10.020

Enhancing the emotional bond when bottle feeding: While direct breastfeeding is highly recommended, in the event that breastfeeding is not possible or inadequate, the expressed breastmilk or formula milk can be fed through a bottle by a consistent caregiver who pays close attention to the baby, with skin contact, if possible, during feeding. When a baby is partly or entirely fed by the bottle (or any means other than at the breast directly), the caregiver can continue to strengthen attachment by intentionally providing skin-to-skin contact. For example, caregivers can hold babies in their arms instead of propping them on the sofa, sharing gaze and smiles, and interacting with them in a soothing voice. Be sensitive to the babies' cues to pause or take a break during feeding to allow them to burp or rest.

6, 7

  1. Scatliffe, N., Casavant, S., Vittner, D., & Cong, X. (2019). Oxytocin and early parent-infant interactions: A systematic review. International Journal of Nursing Sciences, 6(4), 445–453. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnss.2019.09.009

  2. Gordon, I., Zagoory-Sharon, O., Leckman, J. F., & Feldman, R. (2010). Oxytocin and the development of parenting in humans. Biological Psychiatry, 68(4), 377–382. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2010.02.005

Like breastfeeding mothers, fathers and other consistent caregivers who engage in responsive and reciprocal interactions, including contact, experience a surge of nurturing hormones.

8, 9

  1. Chen, E. M., Gau, M. L., Liu, C. Y., & Lee, T. Y. (2017). Effects of Father-Neonate Skin-to-Skin Contact on Attachment: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Nursing Research and Practice, 2017, 8612024. https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/8612024

  2. Shorey, S., He, H. G., & Morelius, E. (2016). Skin-to-skin contact by fathers and the impact on infant and paternal outcomes: an integrative review. Midwifery, 40, 207–217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2016.07.007

Mindful feeding: Caregivers' abilities to recognise and feed in response to babies’ cues are impaired when distracted or paying attention to other external stimuli (typically mobile devices or TV in the Singapore context). Caregivers who engage in such "mindless feeding" would be less sensitive to the baby.

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  1. Golen, R. B., & Ventura, A. K. (2015). Mindless feeding: Is maternal distraction during bottle-feeding associated with overfeeding? Appetite, 91, 385–392. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2015.04.078