Name: Meghan Joye
Profession: Bar owner
For Meghan and her two daughters late afternoons are special. Errands done, dinner cooking, "we just roll around on the floor together." Having kids made her "want to be a better person. I started running, joined the community board. I realized I'm their number one role model. I want them to see me as a leader so they become leaders."
Brats 'n' Spats
The terrible twos indeed lead to frequent mother-child conflict, and tots with touchy temperaments are especially subject to standoffs. But those with secure attachments go out of their way to restore harmony by compromising and explaining a stubborn stance.
Tough—But Trainable
No matter an infant's temperament, eventual adjustment to school hinges on the quality of parenting. Researchers find that infants with irritable nervous systems are highly positively affected by excellent parenting—but unusually adversely impacted by poor parenting.
In the Name of Love
Maternal love is supported not by oxytocin alone, but also by an elaborate network of brain centers. They light up most intensely in response to an infant's cries of distress, when motherly feelings are complicated by worry and mom tenderly tries to shield baby from her concerns.
Attachment's Long Arm
How securely attached you feel influences whether you lean right or left politically, especially on terrorism. Under conditions of threat, the securely attached can maintain compassionate values and support liberal causes. But terror threats deeply spook the skittishly attached, driving them to seek security in hard-line tactics.
Sources: Emotion; Child Development; Biological Psychiatry; Psychological Science
