Try not to become too attached is what you’re told when you first start work, but when the child you care for is reliant upon your voice; your touch for reassurance, attachment has never been so crucial.
We will never be mum or dad, but in the absence of a parent, we are all they have. As you sit with them, your hand on their chest; rubbing their nose; kissing their cheek, the excruciating pain they are in gives way to reassured slumber as they know that you are with them; that you care for them; that you love them.
To see their pain; their tears; their posturing tears us apart: our chests tighten and tears move gently down our cheeks. But we never show them. We smile, we whisper to them softly, apply a little more pressure with our hand that rests upon their chest as weighted sensory touch, move our entire body just that little bit closer, and tell them that everything is going to be ok.
They trust that you’ll be there for them, they trust that you’ll be there with them. Such a trust would not be possible without a bond of attachment.
Helen x