A significant focus is placed on positive outcomes for children in today’s society. However, mental health clinicians attest that poor attachments, during early childhood, are likely to have negative effects on a child’s long-term outcomes. By using the post-positivist paradigm, 10 mental health clinicians were interviewed and each provided their perspectives regarding the negative social skills and emotional regulations of young children, when parents fail to appropriately bond with their children, during their early years. Their ideas were formulated, connected, and structured to develop a theoretical statement. The resulting theory focused on the parent’s ability to develop and strengthen the parent/child relationship, through a range of interventions. Parent’s inability to form positive attachments were influenced by a variety of issues, such as, depression, drug and/or alcohol dependency, poverty, poor relationships with the child’s parent, mental illness, violence, etc. These factors resulted in poor social dynamics with the parent; thereby, hindering their bonding. Children with poor attachments tend to display poor socioemotional affects, such as, poor social, coping, and problem solving skills, tantrums, clingy, withdrawn, or aggressive behaviors, etc. These negative effects, often impacts the child throughout their developmental years.

När barn börjar i förskolan kan det innebära en stor omställning där barnen får möjligheter till att skapa nya relationer. Relationerna som utvecklas i förskolan kommer att ligga till grund för barns välbefinnande. Syftet med studien är att undersöka och bidra med kunskaper om hur pedagoger arbetar för att stödja trygga relationer/anknytning till barn i åldern 1–3 år, samt hur pedagoger svarar på barns behov av trygghet i utforskandet under leksituationer. Två kvalitativa metoder tillämpades; strukturerade icke-deltagande observationer, samt semistrukturerade intervjuer. Anknytningsteorin tillämpades genom en tematisk analysmetod. Resultatet i studien visade att pedagogernas strategier var grundläggande för hur trygga relationer ska utvecklas till barnen. Pedagogerna tillämpade och berättade att den viktigaste strategin var lyhördhet, närvaro och anpassningsbarhet för att möta barnens kontaktsökande. Vår slutsats är att pedagogernas relationsarbete visade sig ha betydelse för barns välmående och för barns lek. Förskollärarna synliggör anknytningens olika aspekter som beskrivs vara grundläggande i hur barns relationer utvecklas, alla barns relationer ser olika ut och utvecklas på olika sätt. Vidare tar även förskollärarna upp hur viktigt det är att relationsskapandet ska ske på barns villkor för att en trygg relation ska vara möjlig. / When children start preschool, it involves a big adjustment where the children get opportunities to create new relationships. The relationships that develop in preschool will form the basis of the child's development and their well-being. The purpose of the study is to examine and contribute knowledge about how preschool teachers work to promote safe relationships with children in the age of 1–3 years old, as well as how preschool teachers respond to children's needs for security in the exploration during free play. Two qualitative methods were applied: structured non-participatory observations, as well as semi-structured interviews. The attachment theory was applied through a thematic analysis method. The results of the present study showed that the preschool teachers strategies were fundamental of how secure relationships should develop to the children. The preschool teachers applied and said that the most important strategy was sensitivity, presence, and adaptable preschool teachers to meet the children's contact-seeking. Our conclusion is that the preschool teachers relationship work proved to be important for children's well-being and for children's play. The preschool teachers describe the various aspects of attachment that are fundamental in how children's relationships develop. All children's relationships look different and develop in different ways. The preschool teachers want to highlight that the relationship must take place on the child's terms in order so a secure relationship can be possible.