Case Summary
Marcus, a 24-month-old toddler, is facing another separation from his single mother, who is enlisted in the Army. Since his birth, he has been separated from her three times, each with a different caregiver (aunt, grandmother, and friend).
Developmental Analysis
Impact of Separation on Marcus and His Mother
The first stages of toddlers’ development play a central role in the formation of their skills, personality, and relations with others. For this reason, the mother figure plays a fundamental role during this phase. Maternal warmth might help to attain better behavior regulation and the ability to build attachment (Deffaa et al., 2020). However, if a toddler is separated from their parents, such as in Marcus’ case, problematic issues might emerge. These might include problems with behaviors, trust issues in the future, and a lack of warmth in relations. At the same time, the mother might also experience difficulties building relations with the son after a long period of living apart.
The Role of Social Worker Intervention and Theoretical Guidance
Therefore, a child should have a caregiver to support him during various developmental phases. Thus, a toddler who forms an attachment to an adult will have more chances to survive (Zastrow et al., 2018). For this reason, a social worker should accept the parental role and interact with Marcus in ways similar to those used by his mother. It would help to reduce the deficit of attention and provide the boy with a person he can follow, copy, and consider a source of protection and knowledge.
The described intervention can also be justified by using the relevant frameworks. For instance, the attachment theory emphasizes the importance of cooperation between the parent and the child, which leads to forming emotional bonding (Zastrow et al., 2018). If the given process is interrupted, the individual suffers from a lack of attachment and warmth, negatively influencing his/her personality. However, following the Vygotsky theory, children’s development should be viewed as an apprenticeship, and children advance when they interact with more skilled individuals (Zastrow et al., 2018). Scaffolding, or learning from others who are close, is fundamental for a toddler’s growth (Zastrow et al., 2018). Under these conditions, a social worker should perform the maternal role to help Marcus build attachment and acquire new skills and knowledge.
References
Deffaa, M., Weis, M., & Trommsdorff, G. (2020). The role of maternal parenting for children’s behavior regulation in environments of risk. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 2159. Web.
Zastrow, C., Kirst-Ashman, K., & Hessenauer, S. (2018). Understanding human behavior and the social environment (11th ed.). Cengage Learning.