Relationship Reflection

  Relationships are extremely important because they form who we are today.  All relationships have a significant impact on our mental, physical, and emotional development.  When I reflect on the word relationships, I began to think of the two individuals that I built my very first relationships with and I’m honored to call them my parents.  I strongly believe this established relationship laid the foundation for all of my future relationships.  As I researched early childhood development and thinking of myself of a young child, I believe I was an infant with secure attachment qualities.  Berger (2018) indicated that secure attachment is a relationship in which an infant obtains both comfort and confidence from the presence of his or her caregiver.  My parents, who were my primary caregivers, provided an opportunity for exploration, assurance and encouraged discovery. As a young child, my parents encouraged me to explore the world and provided plenty of encouragement and praise as I tried new things. There was always mutual respect, love, and I trusted their decisions.

  The relationship I established with my brother at a young age was also an equally important relationship.  My brother, besides my father, was my first male best friend.  Although we were five years apart in age, I observed my brother consistently and enjoyed our relationship.  Responsive and mutual relationships are important through childhood and beyond (Berger, 2018).  My brother was very protective of me as his only younger female sibling and truly cared for his family.  On weekends, we enjoyed fun activities and supported each other as we participated in a variety of sports activities.

  I established new friendships as I began to play outside with my friends from school as well as the neighborhood.  My childhood best friend and I have remained friends for over three decades.  Although we attended different schools and lived in different neighborhoods, we continued to communicate by becoming pen pals, sending emails, arranging play dates, etc.  In high school, I was fortunate enough to meet another amazing friend.  Berger (2018) concludes that teenagers explore and make new friendships independent from their parents, using their working models of earlier attachment as a base.  We shared the love of cheerleading as well as the same birthday month.  We enjoyed similar music, creating dances and similar foods.

  In order to maintain the friendships that I currently have, it took additional effort as well as planning.  For example, my childhood best friend and I attended different schools and our parents moved to different neighborhoods.  In order to communicate, we exchanged addresses and became pen pals.  As we became more technologically savy, we began to email and eventually call each other on the cell phone.  Our friendships remained strong because we ensured our parents were also aware of when we wanted to have playdates.  Throughout the entire friendship, consistency and building a strong foundation in trust was the key which kept our friendship growing as we grew older.

  My previous relationships have a significant impact on my ability to work as an effective early childhood professional.  As each relationship developed, I learned about a variety of cultural backgrounds and received insight on cultural differences.  My friends were from different cultural backgrounds, we taught each other family traditions and I learned about different religions.  In the early childhood field, I have received the opportunity to work with colleagues from different parts of the world as well as children from different parts of the world.  As I work with my colleagues, I want to ensure that I am an effective communicator, trust worthy, consistent, and reliable just as my strongest relationships from the past have been.

References:

Berger, K. S. (2018). The developing person through childhood. (8th edition). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.