| Course | PAC 201 Child Development |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 6 |
| Paper type | Socioemotional development paper |
| Length | About 1,012 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Aspen University |
| Program | Psychology and Addiction Studies |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for PAC 201 Module 6
Mondays Are Hard for Eli: Attachment, Emotional Regulation and a Toddler Whose Father Is in Early Recovery
Student Name
Psychology and Addiction Studies Program, Aspen University
PAC 201: Child Development
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Mondays Are Hard for Eli: Attachment, Emotional Regulation and a Toddler Whose Father Is in Early Recovery
Eli is twenty-six months old and has spent weekdays in the Desert Sprouts toddler room since he turned one. His teachers describe him as funny and affectionate, with a laugh that sets off the whole room. Over the past two months, they have noticed a pattern: on most Monday mornings, Eli hits other children, usually over toys, and cries hard when his mother leaves. By Tuesday he is himself again. His parents separated last year. He lives with his mother during the week and spends weekends with his father, who is four months sober after treatment for alcohol use disorder and attends a recovery group. His mother asked the center whether the visits are harming Eli. This paper examines Eli's behavior through research on emotional and social development. Eli and his family are invented for teaching, as is the center, and the research is real.
How Toddlers Manage Feelings
Toddlers feel strong emotions, including frustration, anger, fear and joy, but they have limited ability to manage those feelings on their own. Emotional regulation develops gradually, first through adults who soothe, name feelings and help children calm down, and later through children's own growing skills. At two, Eli can sometimes use words, but when he is overwhelmed, his feelings come out through his body. Hitting is common at this age and usually decreases as language and self-control develop.
The Still-Face Study
The importance of a responsive caregiver appears even in early infancy. Tronick et al. (1978) asked mothers to interact normally with their infants and then, for a short period, to hold a still, unresponsive face while looking at the baby. The infants first tried to re-engage their mothers by smiling, cooing and reaching. When the mothers stayed unresponsive, the infants grew wary, looked away, slumped and became distressed. When normal interaction resumed, most infants recovered, though some remained subdued. The study showed that even young infants expect their caregivers to respond and that a sudden loss of responsiveness is stressful.
For toddlers like Eli, transitions between homes and the different rhythms of two households can be similarly unsettling, especially if one setting is less predictable.
Attachment and Later Behavior
Attachment describes the emotional bond between a child and caregivers. Securely attached children use caregivers as a safe base, seeking comfort when distressed and exploring when calm. Insecure patterns include avoidant, resistant and disorganized attachment, the last marked by confused or fearful behavior toward caregivers, often linked to frightening or highly unpredictable care.
Fearon et al. (2010) conducted a meta-analysis of studies linking early attachment to later externalizing problems such as aggression and defiance. Insecure attachment was associated with more externalizing problems, and the association was strongest for disorganized attachment. The effects were modest in size, and they were larger for boys and in clinical samples. The authors emphasized that insecure attachment is a risk factor, not a cause that determines outcomes, and that many insecurely attached children do not develop behavior problems.
Making Sense of Eli's Mondays
When the teachers met with Eli's mother, and later, with her agreement, with his father, a picture emerged. His father keeps a later schedule and Eli often naps in the car on Sundays, then struggles to sleep that night. Eli also asks for his father at Monday drop-off. His father described the weekends as a priority in his recovery and was eager to help.
| Possible explanation | What would support it | What would argue against it |
|---|---|---|
| Transition stress after two days away | Hitting clusters on Monday mornings and fades by Tuesday | Hitting on other days too |
| Tiredness from a different weekend schedule | Late bedtimes or missed naps at his father's | Rested Mondays still hard |
| Missing his father at the switch back | Asks for his father on Mondays | No mention of his father |
| Stress or unpredictability at either home | Changes in sleep, eating or fear at home | Calm, consistent weekends reported |
| Normal toddler aggression made visible by a pattern | Hitting over toys, quickly calmed | Intense or frequent aggression all week |
A Plan for Eli
Bakermans-Kranenburg et al. (2003) conducted meta-analyses of interventions designed to improve parental sensitivity and children's attachment security. Interventions improved parents' sensitivity and, to a lesser degree, children's attachment security. The most effective interventions were relatively brief, involving fewer than about sixteen sessions, and focused specifically on parents' sensitive behavior rather than on broader goals. The authors summarized the finding as less is more.
Following this principle, the plan is brief and focused. At the center, Eli's primary teacher will greet him at Monday drop-off, offer a short goodbye routine with his mother and stay close during the first hour, naming his feelings and helping him calm before he hits. The center will offer both parents a short series of sessions with its family specialist, focused on noticing and responding to Eli's cues, with his father's sessions scheduled around his recovery meetings. The parents agreed to align Sunday naps and bedtimes. His father will send a photo of himself for Eli's cubby, so Eli can see him on Mondays. The teachers will track hitting by day for six weeks.
The Father's Recovery
Eli's mother's question about whether the visits harm him deserves a careful answer. Nothing in Eli's behavior suggests his father's care is unsafe, and his father's sobriety and engagement are strengths. If concerns about safety arose, such as signs of drinking during visits, they would need to be addressed directly. But the evidence points to a toddler managing transitions between two loving homes, which is a challenge many children of separated parents face.
Conclusion
Eli's hard Mondays have several possible explanations, and the most likely involve transitions, sleep and missing his father rather than harm. Tronick and colleagues show how much infants depend on responsive caregivers, Fearon and colleagues show that insecure attachment raises risk modestly and Bakermans-Kranenburg, van IJzendoorn and Juffer show that brief, focused support for sensitivity helps. With both parents and his teachers responding to his cues, Eli's Mondays can become easier.
References
Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., van IJzendoorn, M. H., & Juffer, F. (2003). Less is more: Meta-analyses of sensitivity and attachment interventions in early childhood. Psychological Bulletin, 129(2), 195-215. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.129.2.195
Fearon, R. P., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., van IJzendoorn, M. H., Lapsley, A.-M., & Roisman, G. I. (2010). The significance of insecure attachment and disorganization in the development of children's externalizing behavior: A meta-analytic study. Child Development, 81(2), 435-456. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01405.x
Tronick, E., Als, H., Adamson, L., Wise, S., & Brazelton, T. B. (1978). The infant's response to entrapment between contradictory messages in face-to-face interaction. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 17(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0002-7138(09)62273-1
Reading the PAC 201 Module 6 assignment instructions
Social and emotional development is the sixth module's subject in PAC 201, and a typical assignment asks you to explain how young children form relationships and regulate feelings and to apply the research to a child's behavior. Rely on the Module 6 wording your Aspen course provides; the child is invented. Explain emotional development and the role of caregivers in regulation. Describe attachment and what research shows about its effects, including their size. Interpret a child's behavior through several possible explanations rather than one. Include the family's situation with care. Propose a plan for teachers and family grounded in intervention research, and cite every study in APA 7. Name the sign, such as fewer incidents on Mondays, that would show progress.
How this PAC 201 Module 6 example is built
Eli, twenty-six months, hits most often on Monday mornings and calms when his teacher holds him. His parents separated last year; his father, sober for four months, has him on weekends. The paper explains how toddlers rely on adults to manage feelings. Tronick and colleagues' Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry report describes the still-face study. Fearon and colleagues' Child Development meta-analysis shows the modest link between insecure attachment and behavior problems. A five-row table offers explanations for Eli's Mondays. Bakermans-Kranenburg, van IJzendoorn and Juffer's Psychological Bulletin meta-analyses support a brief sensitivity-focused plan. Steps for teachers, mother and father close the paper, with six weeks of tracking by day.
Reading the PAC 201 Module 6 grading rubric
Socioemotional papers earn credit for accurate developmental knowledge, careful interpretation and a supportive, evidence-based plan. This example offers several explanations for Eli's behavior, from transitions to tiredness to stress at either home, rather than jumping to conclusions about his father. It reports Fearon and colleagues' effect sizes as modest, avoiding the common overstatement that insecure attachment determines a child's future. The plan draws on the finding that brief, focused interventions work, and it includes both parents as partners. Language about the father's recovery is respectful and treats his sobriety as a strength. The center's role is kept realistic, and the plan includes a way to tell whether Mondays improve. Both parents are treated as partners.
PAC 201 Module 6 help: mistakes that cost marks
Students often attribute a child's behavior to a single cause, especially a parent's substance use. Consider several explanations and gather information before concluding. Another weakness is overstating attachment research; insecure attachment raises risk modestly and does not determine outcomes. Explain emotional regulation as something toddlers learn with adults' help. Avoid labeling a toddler aggressive or a parent bad. Include both parents where possible. Propose specific steps grounded in intervention research. Respect the family's privacy and the father's recovery. Remember that hitting is common at this age; what matters is the pattern and the response, and progress may be measured in fewer hard Mondays rather than none.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Aspen University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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PAC 201 Module 6 questions, answered
What does PAC 201 Module 6 usually ask for?
Aspen's PAC 201 addresses emotional and social development here, so applying research on attachment and regulation to a child's behavior is typical. Review your Module 6 prompt.
What is the still-face experiment?
Tronick and colleagues had mothers stop responding and hold a still face; infants tried to re-engage, then withdrew and became distressed.
Does insecure attachment cause behavior problems?
Fearon and colleagues found a modest association, strongest for disorganized attachment, which raises risk but does not determine outcomes.
Where can I find a free PAC 201 Module 6 sample paper?
It is posted here in full: attachment and emotional regulation research applied to a toddler with hard Mondays, with a plan for teachers and parents.
Can parenting interventions improve attachment?
Bakermans-Kranenburg, van IJzendoorn and Juffer found that interventions improved sensitivity and attachment, and that brief, focused programs worked best.