The pioneers of attachment theory are the researchers John Bowlby, Mary Ainsworth and Mary Main. The concept of attachment focuses on the process through which infants and young children develop a sense of security in their parent's ability and willingness to protect them from harm and be responsive to their needs. We know:

• attachments can last a lifetime
• attachments can and likely will change over time

In general, according to Bornstein (1995), attachment studies show that parents who respond promptly, reliably and appropriately to their babies' signals of physical and emotional distress give babies a good message from the start - their parents will be there for them.

Bornstein, M. (1995). Parenting Infants. In M. Bornstein (Ed.), Handbook of Parenting: Vol. 1.Children and Parenting (pp. 3-39). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.