Now that you have given up the electron, you are now quite attractive, electrically. If you look at the periodic table you might notice that elements on the left side usually become positively charged ions and elements on the right side get a negative charge. That means the left side has a positive valence and the right side has a negative valence. We talk about ionic bonds in CHEM4KIDS . Scientists also call ionic bonds electrovalent bonds.
Ionic bonds are really just groups of charged ions held together by electric forces.
When they are in the presence of other ions the electrovalent bonds are weaker because of outside electrical attractions. Salt is a very strong bond when it is sitting on your table. It would be nearly impossible to break those ionic bonds. But if you put that salt into some water, the bonds break really quickly because of the electrical attraction of the water. Now all you have are Sodium and Chloride ions.