[Animation of five parents sitting around a table with various drinks and baked goods in front of them. Zoom out to reveal children surrounding the table engaged in various behaviors, such as fighting over a stuffed bear, shaking a rattle, building with blocks, banging on a drum and shouting, jumping on a table with an ice cream cone in hand, and crying and waving their hands] 

Narrator: Parents. We all wonder if we’re getting it right. We want to know we’re meeting our children's needs, helping them grow, and giving them all that we can.

[Zoom back in to the mother in the center of the table. Thought bubbles appear above her head with images of her own parents lecturing her, friends giving advice, and herself contemplating her own beliefs.]

Narrator: We try to combine our own experience of being parented with the advice of others, and our own instincts and beliefs about what is best.

[Focus in on the mother, whose expression changes to show that she is worried. The word “Succeeding?” appears in block letters above her head.]

Narrator: And still, we so often worry that we’re not succeeding.

[A stack of books piles up in front of the woman, covering her. The books are titled, “Breastfeeding and Attachment (The Real Story), Attachment Theory: 101, Positive Breastfeeding, Preparing Your Child for Success, A Child-Led Life, Teach Your Baby to Walk Early in Twelve Easy Steps, Negotiating Nap Times, Vintage Weaning, Feeding Responsively, Attachment and Detachment, Let Your Child Run Wild, Translating Baby Noises, Induced Teething, How Safe Is Safe Enough?, Everything in Moderation, How to Raise Happy Children, and Little Genius Cook Book. The books fan out into a circle, then flip, one at a time, to become red arrows in a circle around the “Circle of Security” logo. The logo with the red arrows around it moves to the side to show the woman standing beside it, looking pensive]

Narrator: In a world that is always offering the next best parenting solution, The Circle of Security is based on decades of attachment research. Unlike many behavioral perspectives, it offers relationship tools to provide a new way of understanding your children’s needs, creating lasting security for them, and more satisfaction for you.

[The Circle of Security logo is replaced by the face of the woman’s child.]

Narrator: The Circle graphic has been created to help you know what to look for, so you can read your children’s behavior to guide you in meeting their needs. 

[The rest of the child appears, and we zoom out to see the child surrounded by individuals of varying ages.]

Narrator: It’s really not complicated. People of all ages have attachment needs. These needs can be divided in three ways.

[Zoom back in on the child, then show him riding a scooter. Red arrows show a circular path between him riding the scooter at a fast pace and walking beside it. The circle expands to show his mother waiting to embrace him in between riding out and returning on the scooter.]

Narrator: Let’s look at this child: First, he needs to know the freedom and confidence to go out and explore his world. Second, he needs to feel assured that whenever he’s ready, he can come back for comfort and protection. Third, he needs his caregiver to be in charge in a kind way.

[Labels appear on each illustration on the circle that say, “Going out,” “Coming in,” and “Hands.”]

Narrator: Three basic needs that can be thought of as: Going Out on the Circle, Coming In on the Circle, and Hands on the Circle. Let’s have a look in more detail.

[Zoom in farther on the circle to see illustrations appearing of the boy running, his mother watching him play through a window as she washes dishes at the kitchen sink, and the mother and son playing together with a kite and as pirates in a tent.]

Narrator: Feeling safe and supported, our children want to discover their world. When going out, they need to know that their exploration is encouraged, that we’re right there watching over them, delighting in them, offering help when needed, and ready to enjoy their new adventures with them.

[The arrows of the circle turn the other direction and show the child running back to his mother with tears in his eyes, the mother embracing the crying boy, standing in front of him while he looks out timidly, reading him a book while he is in bed, and sitting at a table with him, listening to him talk.]

Narrator: And when they’re coming in, they need us to refill their emotional cup. This means organizing their emotions, and letting them know we are delighted to welcome them back, protect, comfort and understand them.

[Zoom out to see the circle of red arrows. The words “Bigger Stronger Wiser & Kind” appear in the center of the circle. The red arrows disappear, then reappear to illustrate the motion of the circle.]

Narrator: The key for us as parents is to remain strong and kind, while knowing when to encourage their going out into the world, and how to be available to welcome them back to us.

[The circle fades out, and the words “Pain & Frustration” grow into the center of the screen.]

Narrator: It’s crucial that we learn to identify our children’s needs like this, because misreading them, or worse, missing them altogether, can cause pain and frustration.

[“Pain & Frustration” drops to the bottom of the screen. A drawing appears of the mother holding her son back from children playing on a seesaw while he cries in frustration because he wants to join them. Another illustration appears alongside the first one with the boy tugging on his mother’s sweater and crying while she looks at a tablet instead of paying attention to him.]

Narrator: We all know how uncomfortable it can be to be held too close when we want to be out exploring, or kept at a distance when we need emotional support.

[Three new images appear of the child in various states of upset. The first is labeled, “Lost,” the second is labeled, “Confused,” and the third is labeled, “Out of control.”]

Narrator: Or simply to be without someone who is bigger, stronger, wiser and kind, who we can trust to understand what we need, when we’re feeling lost, confused or out of control.

[Zoom in on the image of the child feeling out-of-control.]

Narrator: When a child misbehaves, the cause is often rooted in how safe and secure they are feeling.

[The image flips to show the child, now calm and holding his mother’s hand.]

Narrator: So it is not surprising that they behave well when a parent learns to tune in to their child’s needs on the circle in this way.

[The circle of red arrows returns, featuring drawings of different sets of parents and children at various places in the cycle.]

Narrator: And because our needs on the circle never disappear, learning to read cues can help you better understand and meet the needs of people of all ages, including your own. So, that’s all there is to it!

[The illustrations of various different families fade and images of the main child reappear at different places in the circle. Labels appear on each of the images, reading, “Going Out, Coming In, “Hands”]

Narrator: Just know that at any given moment, your child is somewhere on the Circle asking you to meet a need: Support my Going Out. Welcome my Coming In. Be the Hands that keep me safe by staying in charge, and committed to helping me feel connected.

[An image of the mother appears. She is smiling serenely.]

Narrator: And please remember this: There’s no such thing as perfect parenting. At Circle of Security we’ve come to realize that good enough is, well, good enough.

[Zoom out from the mother to see her sitting at a table with coffee and baked goods on it. The words “Perfect Parenting” appear above her head in quotation marks. Others appear at the table and on the ground around it, all interacting happily with their children. The words “Good enough” appear at the top of the image.]

Narrator: All of us are going to miss needs on the Circle time and again. Welcome to the club. But if we meet our children’s needs enough of the time, the results will be happier, healthier, more secure children. And parents too.

[Circle of Security International logo appears. “Early Intervention Program for Parents and Children. Glen Cooper, Kent Hoffman, & Bert Powell. www.circleofsecurity.com ©2014 Cooper, Hoffman, & Powell, LLC.” Hands Up logo appears. “Support for good. Handsup.co.uk” End of video.]