North Carolina Early Learning and Development Progressions: Birth to Five

Domain: NC Foundations for Early Learning: Emotional and Social Development (ESD)

Subdomain: Developing a Sense of Self with Others

Goal: Children form relationships and interact positively with familiar adults who are consistent and responsive to their needs.

Skill Progression: Attachment

Age: 21-24 Months

Click here to go to all skills for ages 21-24 Months.

Desires to be held or sit on the adult’s lap, clingy at times

Situations for Observation of Skill

Observe the child in interaction with the adult within daily routines.

Elicitation Strategy

No elicitation needed.

Behavior Observed

Although the child can play independently, she often needs to be reassured of the adult’s love, and comes back for a hug or to share a toy.

Routines-based Intervention (Embedded Instruction)

Explain to parents how children are feeling at this level. Support the child’s need for checking in and getting a little attention. The adult doesn’t always need to devote full attention for long periods of time. The child typically just needs a quick hug and kiss and redirection to something more interesting.

 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, 2015

©2015 by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/.