Research on the development of social relations has been largely fragmented along role-specific lines and dominated conceptually by attachment theory. The Convoy Model is presented as an alternative to traditional approaches that fail to capture the complexity of social relationships across time and context. Research based on the model converges with that of other investigators to indicate that children benefit from the presence of multiple relations that play diverse roles in their lives, although the importance of specific relations may vary across individuals. A broader conceptualization of social relations is needed to address the place of attachment figures within a larger network of developmentally significant relations.