Psychology of the Power of Touch in Babies

Touching and cuddling your baby is a necessary part of his optimal development. While some may believe that being affectionate with your baby and consistently responding to his cries with a loving embrace may cause him to become spoiled, this is simply not the case. Touching your baby is a way to show him he is loved and cared for, as well as that his needs are important. The power of touch affects a baby's psychological well-being by promoting positive attachment and security, raising his self-esteem, leading to better brain development and paving the way for emotional well-being in adulthood.

  1. Promotes Positive Attachment

    • Taking the time to cuddle your infant, specifically with skin-to-skin contact, will give her a sense of safety and security. Margaret Chuong-Kim, a counseling psychologist with two academic degrees in the field, reports on Dr. Ben Kim's website that physical contact with your baby will lead to a positive attachment relationship between the two of you. In fact, the practice of placing an infant dressed in a diaper on the bare skin of her mother has been shown to be so beneficial that it is now an intervention strategy for premature babies in neonatal intensive care units around the world.

    Raises His Self-Esteem

    • Your baby's self-esteem will be promoted by the power of physical touch. According to Dr. Robert W. Sears, who is board-certified in pediatrics and a co-author in the Sears Parenting Library, and who runs the AskDrSears website, a baby who is on the receiving end of a loving touch will learn which parts of his body are the most sensitive, and which need relaxing. This physical touch will cause an effect similar to that experienced by an adult who is "touched" by a loving remark from a friend.

    Facilitates Better Brain Development

    • Loving touch facilitates optimal brain development in an infant. Dr. Sears states that newborns who receive extra touch display enhanced neurological development. The reason behind this is that physical touch promotes the growth of myelin, a material that insulates the nerves in the brain and enables the impulses to travel more quickly.

    Promotes Emotional Well-Being in Adulthood

    • Making sure to lovingly touch your infant may affect her emotions in adulthood. A 2010 study reported on in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health focused on the quality of mother-baby interactions when the baby was 8 months old, and its psychological effect later in life. Thirty-four years later, the emotional functioning of each adult was measured using a 90-symptom checklist. Remarkably, high levels of maternal affection were associated with significantly lower adult distress levels. Such drastic findings confirm the importance of touch for the psychological well-being of an infant, and of the adult he will become.

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