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DR 1: Children are personally and socially competent
⇣ Indicator: SOC—Children demonstrate effective social and interpersonal skills
⇣ Measure 6: Relationships with Familiar Adults—
Child forms close relationships or attachments with familiar adults
	Descriptors	Examples
7	Works cooperatively with adult to plan and organize activities and to solve problems	“I can help set the table for snack.” Cooperates and plans with adult to find a way to bring water to the sandbox. Interacts with adult to solve a problem he’s having with a puzzle. Plans an art activity with adult.
6	Relates regularly to familiar adult to share ideas, experiences, feelings, and plans	Asks, “Can we play with play dough?” Calls familiar adult over while doing an activity. Communicates with familiar adult about feeling sad. Uses gestures to show adult how he or she was hurt when playing. Asks, “Guess what I saw yesterday?” Asks adult why other child is not going outside. Pulls adult to site where he/she found a bug.
5	Seeks familiar adult to get needs met	Communicates, “Teacher I need help.” Asks adult sitting next to her to tie her shoes. Asks adult to get something he or she cannot reach. Seeks out familiar adult to play trucks or a game.
4	Seeks to maintain contact with familiar adult through eye contact, vocalizations, or physically	Places a toy on familiar adult’s lap, goes to get another toy and then places that toy on familiar adult’s lap. When not sure if something is safe, looks at or goes to familiar adult. Makes eye contact with familiar adult from time to time. Vocalizes to familiar adult on other side of room.
3	Shows anxiety over separation from familiar adults	At drop off time: Momentarily cries or clings to parent. Crawls or walks to the door and stays there. Becomes very quiet and hesitant to join other activities.
2	Responds to actions or facial expressions of familiar adult	Imitates familiar adult’s smile. Keeps track of familiar adult’s movement around the room. Shows preference for being held by a familiar adult.
1	Attends to familiar adult’s face and voice	Turns head toward familiar adult. Looks in direction of familiar adult’s voice.

Measure 6 — SOC 3

Relationships with Familiar Adults

Child forms close relationships or attachments with familiar adults

Attachment is the strong, positive, mutual relationship that develops between a child and one or more significant adults. Typically, this relationship begins at birth, when the infant is dependent and the caregiver works to understand and meet the infant’s needs. An infant’s initial trust and attachment with her primary caregiver is the basis for the formation of future relationships with other adults and peers outside of the immediate family. Infants who experience trusting relationships early in their lives grow to become children who value trusted adults for security, love, comfort, guidance, community, and validation.

In the first few months of life, infants attend to the face and voice of familiar adults and learn to distinguish between their primary caregivers and others. They quickly understand that their primary caregivers are the ones who will meet their needs. They may turn their head toward a familiar adult or look in the direction of a familiar voice. By around four months of age, infants and caregivers engage in back-and-forth interactions, such as smiling and cooing. By the middle of their first year, they begin to protest when separated from their primary caregiver (separation anxiety); and by around nine months of age, they begin to fear strangers and protest when being left. As infants become more mobile, they use their primary caregiver as a secure base from which to explore the world.

Young toddlers seek to maintain contact with familiar adults, doing whatever they need to stay connected, whether it is calling out, laughing, or crying. Toddlers will also begin to look at their significant adults for signals in ambiguous situations, such as when a stranger enters the room. Toddlers who experienced nurturing and responsive care as infants see adults as valuable resources for getting their needs met and will go to trusted adults for help with difficult tasks. Older toddlers begin to expand their sphere of trusted adults and turn to others outside the family for help in reaching their goals.

Young preschoolers who have had positive experiences with significant caregivers look to familiar adults for information, guidance, companionship, and recognition. They might ask a trusted adult to explain something they don’t understand, such as how baby chicks get out of eggs, or to help them resolve a problem, such as a dispute with another child over a toy. Young preschoolers may ask a familiar adult to join in their play or to admire a puzzle they have just completed.

Most older preschoolers are making the transition from dependency on adults to identification with adults, quickly picking up language and behaviors from those they admire. They seek out and respond to cooperative activities where they can work side by side with adults to help with tasks, solve problems, or plan an activity. They seek out opportunities to maintain these fulfilling relationships and can often be found helping adults pick up toys or setting a table for a snack.

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