Book of the Month - September 2015 [Sabre Tooth Tigers & Teddy Bears]

Sabre Tooth Tigers & Teddy Bears. 
The connected baby guide to understanding attachment by Dr Suzanne Zeedyk

Dr Zeedyk uses emerging neuroscientific evidence to illustrate in a straightforward, accessible way up-to-date thoughts on attachment and the importance of human interaction to the emotional well-being of the developing infant.

The Sabre Tooth Tiger of the title refers to the evolutionary fear of danger, which we all still carry, and which informs our behaviour in unfamiliar situations; while the Teddy Bear represents our internal self-comforting mechanism, a resilience which develops if we are given repeated experiences of being comforted in babyhood to reinforce the relevant neural pathways.

Alongside this short, readable text (not more than about 10,000 words in total), Dr Zeedyk has produced two DVDs – connected baby 1 and connected baby 2 – each with four 15-minute real-life illustrations of interactions between babies (from 2 weeks to 14 months) and their parents and siblings. In each case Dr Zeedyk makes a sensitive commentary on what is going on and how it is developing emotional resilience in the infant.

While also referring back to earlier theories of attachment, Dr Zeedyk looks closer at the babies’ ability to recognise and relate to other people from 
birth, the value of carers regularly reflecting what is going on for the baby in words and tone of voice, and the importance not only of love, but of joy in the relationship.

In Dr Zeedyk’s own words “Once we have a better cultural understanding of attachment, we will realise it is not just about children. It is about us: it is about what it means to be human, to live, to lose and to love.”

A good, manageable resource for all parents.

Jo Prince

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