Abstract
Infants of teen mothers have always grown up in social networks. Today those networks are more likely to include childcare teachers. Practices that support infant, parents, and caregivers will develop out of a better understanding of how infants and caregivers build relationships. Over a 6- month period, videotapes were made of 7 infants interacting with their mothers and childcare teachers in a childcare center housed in a high school. Interactions within infant-caregiver dyads were coded using the Emotional Availability Scales. An observational log created from the videotapes provided further insight into the dynamics of relationships. Infants differentiated between their mothers and teachers and in some instances had quite different experiences with involving and responding to each caregiver. Although mothers' and childcare teachers' behavior was significantly correlated with infant behavior, the mother's behavior was more influential. Recommendations for practice include simultaneously supporting interactions that strengthen emotional availability in infant-mother and infant-childcare teacher dyads and providing extra support for infant-caregiver interactions during infants' developmental leaps.