Attachment--A Hot but Frequently Misunderstood Concept

As a domestic relations mediator and Guardian ad Litem, I frequently see parties and attorneys bandying about the concepts of "attachment" and "attachment disorder" for greater leverage in the dispute, and "[t]he concept of attachment can readily tip the scales in custody and parenting-time cases involving infants and young children."   See Pamela S. Ludolph & Mildred D. Dale, Attachment in Child Custody:  An Additive Factor, Not a Determinative One, Family Law Quarterly, Vol. 46, No. 1, Spring 2012.  However, as Ludolph & Dale detail, "attachment is often incompletely understood in both the legal and mental health communities." 

The Connected Baby--A Great New Documentary

Besides being a labor/employment, mediator and mom, I am also a guardian ad litem, working with at risk children.  In that latter role, I  recently had the pleasure of viewing "The Connected Baby," a documentary or "film conversation" produced by researcher Dr. Suzanne Zeedyk and film-maker Jonathan Robertson.

In her opening presentation of her documentary, Dr. Zeedyk discussed how there has been a dramatic increase in the neuroscience associated with attachment.  Simply put, a baby's brain is healthier and more robust, with far greater neural pathways, if he or she forms early and strong attachments with primary care givers. In the first year of develop-