“Hugs Matter! One hug from the right person takes all
your stress away.”
We all love hugs, especially our children, and new
research has shown yet another benefit to sharing a warm hug with those you
love. The loving affection a baby receives through the touch of a hug triggers
their developing brains to grow, and helps them become smarter.
The Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Ohio examined
125 babies, both born preterm and full-term, and analyzed how gentle physical
touch affects their developing brains. They were able to study the development of
cognition, perception and social development of babies who receive warm hugs.
Lead researcher Dr. Nathalie Maitre explains that the
natural response of nurturing your child through body contact, hugging or
rocking them in your arms makes a significant and positive impact in the
development of their brains.
“Making sure that preterm babies receive positive,
supportive touch such as skin-to-skin care by parents is essential to help
their brains respond to gentle touch in ways similar to those of babies who
experienced an entire pregnancy inside their mother’s womb,” Dr. Maitre said.
OXYTOCIN
Oxytocin is a hormone that
acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain. Discovered in 1906 by Sir Henry Dale,
oxytocin has been linked to many human behaviors as well as physical and
emotional benefits. It is released in high amounts during childbirth, allowing
the uterus to contract and milk to eject during breastfeeding. This hormone is
also active in the regulating of social behaviors, such as interactions with
others and bonding with loved ones. Both of these are very important when it
comes to reproduction and caring for our children. The large release of
oxytocin helps mothers to instantly bond with their children, which evolution
has shown to be very useful by allowing humans to survive. Oxytocin is also
referred to as “love molecule” due to its role in reproductive and maternal
behaviors.
Social bonding has played a
critical role in human survival for a few reasons. The first is because groups
tend to survive easier than individuals, so having social bonds allows for
groups to exist. The second is that social bonding helps to facilitate
reproduction and also improves brain development by reducing the emotions of
stress and anxiety. Over the course of human evolution, group exclusion could
have lead to developmental and physical disorders, decreasing chances for
survival.
Humans are naturally social
and social isolation is not an instinctual behavior for us. Oxytocin is able to
create feelings of trust which promote social bonding and the creation of
emotional relationships.
The Mother-Infant Bond
Oxytocin is also released during the physical touch of
a hug. When a mother cradles and hugs her child, and breastfeeds, the release
of Oxytocin stimulates and strengthens the bond between them. Lack of hugging
on the other hand can negatively affect a child’s inner feelings of self-esteem
and confidence.
Studies done on animals have shown that when mothers
are stressed during pregnancy, higher levels of anxiety are observed in the
offspring during life. While it’s hard to measure this in terms of humans, it’s
likely that the same is true, making it all the more important to have positive
bonding experiences with children by hugging and showing affection.
Positive social experience and maternal bonding is the
basis for a child’s healthy emotional and social development and is linked with
increased resilience during stress. Higher Oxytocin levels in mothers has been
linked with increased mother-infant bonding, and by hugging your child daily
the increase in Oxytocin can lead to reduced stress and healthier relationships
between parent and child. Hugging also reduces the risk of potential later in
life social deficits a child can experience.
So in short, be sure to give loving, gentle hugs, and
be generous with how often you give them.
Posted by Kids
Are Special in PARENTS
You might also
like:
- Children learn by example
- Spanking Children: Don't Do It, Ever!
- 7 Effective Strategies to Get Your Kids to Listen
- If You Do THIS, Your Kids Will Listen
- 10 Things to Say Instead of ‘Stop Crying’
- What does your child's behaviour mean?
- Peaceful parenting raises a child who WANTS to behave
- Parental guide to build confidence in kids
- Teaching Children Social Skills
- The Child Behavior Difficulties You Have to Know About
- How to Discipline a Child - Learning How to Behave
- How to Deal With a Bad Tempered Child
- Ηow to Get Your Kids to Listen without Yelling
- Big Discipline Mistakes Parents Make and How to Fix Them
- Discipline Strategies – Helping Boys With Their Temper
- Things You Should Never Do During a Toddler Tantrum
- Three Ways to Use Play to Get Kids to Behave
- How to Raise a Smart Kid Who Loves to Learn
No comments:
Post a Comment