Circle of Security

Circle of Security Parenting (COSP) is a relationship program for parents and caregivers.  It was developed with the goal of finding ways to enhance secure attachment in caregiving relationships because, as caregivers, we all want to do the best we can and have secure relationships with our children. But what does that mean, “to enhance secure attachment”?  We want to have secure relationships, but children don’t come with an owner’s manual, and it can be hard to know how to respond to difficult behaviors and how to manage them. And, of course, every child is different.

Circle of Security Parenting helps us to shift from asking the question, “What does this child want from me?” to “What does my child need?”  COSP offers us a way to see things differently: instead of focusing on the behavior and trying to figure out what to do with it, we start to focus on the behavior as communication of a need, and the need within the relationship.

COSP Facilitators work with parents and caregivers to help them:

• Understand their child’s emotional world by learning to read emotional needs
• Support their child’s ability to successfully manage emotions
• Enhance the development of their child’s self esteem
• Honor the innate wisdom and desire for their child to be secure