Lifelong Benefits Of Physical Touch For Your Baby
Humans are born with a dire need for physical affection, touch and caressing and this rule is no exception to your baby. In fact, according to a study, babies require physical touch so direly that if not provided the same, they can actually stop growing and if the situation persists for long (even if the babies are given proper nutrition), they can also die.
Physical touch is a simple gesture that screams “I Love You” or “You’re well taken care of”. It is the most straightforward way of communicating your love to your little one. In fact, babies understand the unspoken language of love way better than adults and this is one possible reason why they refrain from going on to strangers’ laps.
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This is one gift that your child will cherish for a lifetime. Following are the benefits of physical touch for your little one:
Better Self-esteem
Do not underestimate the benefits of touch for your little munchkin, especially your own touch as a mother. This is because a mother is the first human that a baby shares a positive bond with and if that in itself isn’t sufficient, self-esteem of the baby can be at serious jeopardy. A thing as simple as touch can set your baby on a lifetime of high self-esteem and confidence. Infants who receive a negligible amount of touch often bloom into teenagers with dropping levels of self-esteem. Although touch during infancy is not the sole governing factor of self-esteem, it is inevitable for its development.
Healthy Emotional Life
Dr. Chapman and Dr. Campbell swear by the importance of physical affection, kissing and caressing in a baby’s healthy emotional development. Babies who receive proper physical touch during infancy go on to becoming emotionally stable adults. Moreover, babies can clearly differentiate between a gentle or loving and a harsh or irritable touch. So make sure that no matter how tired you get after a day’s work, there shouldn’t be any slacking in the physical affection you show towards your
The effect of an individual 's personal experience may be one of the controlling factors of their life. In the short story “The Hand”, Yves Theriault presents the idea of the importance of an individual 's personal experience, and the effects of these experiences on their life. Yves shows how these personal experiences are important to one’s life, because it is in control of how an individual will change, and how it will develop their character and personality. This is shown by the character Géron, where one event in his life changed a personality trait that he had for most of his life. Many of my personal experiences could relate to Géron’s incident, where a small event had a large impact in my life, and how the story of our life is influenced
The aim of this investigation is to assemble a naturalistic observational study to evaluate touching behaviour of male and female pair interactions in social settings and compare finding with other theories and hypothesis, either the theory presented by Henley that there is a gender main effect for the initiation of touch over both male and female recipients can be conformed, and thus concludes that the alternate hypothesis can be accepted in favour of the null hypothesis.
This report aims to discuss John Bowlby’s research on attachment. The study revolves around infants and their primary caregivers, properly addressing the attachment level between them, and how they interact with each other. With thorough observations, this study will be able to determine how attachment affects the infant’s sense of security and predetermine their future behavior.
Often frustrated parents or other persons responsible for a child’s care feel that shaking a baby is a harmless way to make a child stop crying. The number one reason why a baby is shaken is because of inconsolable crying. (National Exchange Club Foundation, 1998) An infant may spend two to three hours a day crying. (The Epilepsy Association of Central Florida) A caregiver momentarily gives in to the frustration of responding to a crying baby by shaking. Caregivers may be inadequately prepared for children.
The attachment process plays a crucial role in a child’s development and their future impact on society According to Dr Suzanne Zeedyk. Children can’t feel relaxed and safe with the adults & children in the nursery until they get to know them. If there’s a lack of affection towards a child they may be reluctant to take advantage of all the learning opportunities because of their anxiety. We now know that relationships literally shape the neural connections in young children’s brains. This means everything that happens or doesn’t happen for the child will leaves a physiological trace in their growing brain. According to Dr Suzanne
Touch is as essential to a healthy and happy life as eating right, getting proper sleep, and exercising. With the world growing more technological, the need for healthy human contact is more important than ever. Massage and body therapies are an age old healing refuge for us in this fast-paced, stressed-out world. The practice of massage therapy is rapidly growing in the United States. It has so much to offer and is becoming more widely accepted by doctors and the general public. Massage is touching another person by such movements as rubbing, kneading, pressing, rolling, slapping, and tapping. This type of therapy provides circulation of the blood and lymph, relaxation of muscles, relief from pain, restoration of metabolic balance, and many other benefits both physical and mental. There is much historical evidence to indicate that massage is one of the earliest remedies for pain relief and for the restoration of a healthy body. It is said to be the most natural and instinctive means of relieving pain and discomfort. Massage has proven to be an effective method for treating many conditions for thousands of years and it will continue to be used for thousands of years to come. Massage therapy is a great treatment for the body and soul.
This study is a clinical trial that aims to find out the effect of massage on behavioral state of neonates with respiratory distress syndrome. The participants were 45 neonates who hospitalized in neonatal intensive care unit of Afzalipour hospital in Kerman. Parental consent was obtained for research participation. The inclusion criteria included all infants born with respiratory distress syndrome, less than 36 weeks gestational age and without of any the following conditions: contraindication of touch, skin problems, hyperbilirubinemia, anemia, respirators, chest tube, addicted mother, congenital and central nervous system disease. Infants entered the massage protocol during the second day after starting enteral feeding, because the initiation of enteral feeding means that the infants in physiologically stable [12]. The researcher determined if infants met the study criteria. After initial assessment, the infants were entered to the group. The infants received 45 minute periods of massage intervention per day for 5 days. Each infant received tactile/kinesthetic stimulation, 15 minute periods at the beginning of three consecutive hours. Each massage always started at approximately 30 minutes after afternoon feeding and provided by one or two trained nurses. The 15 minute stimulation sessions consist of 3 standardized 5 minute phases. Tactile stimulation was given during the first and third phases, and kinesthetic stimulation was given during the middle phase. For the tactile stimulation, the neonate was placed in a prone position. After thorough hand scrubbing, the person providing stimulation placed the palms of her warmed hands on the infant’s body through the isolate portholes. Then She gently stroked with her hands for five ...
According to Erik Erickson, in the first year of a child’s life, the main challenge is to establish trust. After birth, an infant must depend completely on others to fulfill their needs. To create a safe environment for the baby, a caregiver must provide things like food, love, and safety. Overall, if the child’s needs are met, the child should develop a positive and trusting attitude toward the world. This security will allow them to build trust with others in the future. For infants that are mistreated or neglected, the world would seem like a scary place. Sadly, they create a barrier and learn to mistrust others. Also, if the child’s needs are not completely fulfilled, the child may develop an insecure attitude (Romero).
The attachment style that a child endures with their mother initially begins before the child is even born. In the mother’s womb, the infant becomes aware of their mother and father’s voices, where they begin to develop a bond with them and feel nurtured and comforted by the things they hear their parents sing and speak to them. According to Bowlby, the development of attachment takes place in four different phases and are reinforced as they grow older from the Preattachment (birth to age 6 weeks), attachment-in-the-making (age 6 weeks to 8 months), clear cut attachment (between 8 months to 1 ½ years of age) and the reciprocal relationship (from 1 ½ or 2 and on). As the child grows older, then begin to understand their parent’s feelings and motives and are able to organize their efforts and reciprocate the same i...
...cal, emotional, and cognitive development for the child. The warmth and empathy shown to the child helps the child develop at a normative rate. While the attachment is important during infancy, it is also important to maintain the attachment throughout adolescence. Children who continue to share a secure attachment with the parent oftentimes have an easier time making friends and working through social issues (cite).
First and foremost, attachments between an infant and the caregiver develop within the first nine months of the life due to consistent, sensitive love and care. This allows the baby to start healthy social, physical, emotional and cognitive developments (Brown, 2001). Quality caregiving is crucial for a healthy outcome during infancy. Infants need their discomfort
In healthy, early relationships the baby and caregiver interact and learn about each other. As they learn about each
Feldman, Ruth, Weller, Aron, Sirota, Lea & Eidelman, Arthur I. (2002). Skin-to-skin contact (kangaroo care) promotes self-regulation in premature infants: Sleep-wake cyclicity, arousal modulation, and sustained exploration. Developmental Psychology, 38, 194-207. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.38.2.194
It discusses how children are born with that needs to connect with individuals around them. Teachers and providers create positive relationship with children from birth through the early years. The foundation for that healthy social and emotional development because it affects her children see the world, express themselves, manages their emotions, in establishing a positive relationship with others. There were several areas of development that included social interactions that focus on the relationship that we share and include relationship with adults and peers. Emotional awareness recognized and understands your feelings and actions of other people, and self-regulation where you have that ability to express your thoughts, feelings, and behavior in a socially appropriate way. There were many tips that were listed when working with infants from talking and reading, having that warm, responsive, and consistent care, maintaining predictable routines, and getting to know each child while following their lead. The importance of supporting children and developing social skills is critical for learning, happiness, and long-term. This development begins during infancy and can be supported through simple social games, emotional role model, and imitating an infant's facial expression and sounds. The importance of social-emotional development and toddlers makes an impact in a child life when these skills are developed starting in infancy. Encouraging positive behaviors and using positive discipline practices that helped to develop the ability to make good choices as well as recognizing the confidence that is built when these behaviors are repeated. This is a process for young children to learn these behaviors always remembering that a patient response will help especially when the behaviors are
Before learning about early childhood in this class I never realized all the way children at such a young age are developing. From the second part of this course I learned how much children are developing at the early childhood stage. I never realized children learn how about their emotions, having empathy, and self-concept at such a young age. I thought children had it easy. They play with friends, start school, and just be kids. One important thing that stood out to me in this chapter is that children’s self-esteem starts at this stage. According to Berk (2012), “self-esteem is the judgments we make about our own worth and the feelings associated with those judgments (p. 366)”. Self-esteem is very important for a child to have and it can