The Power of Touch

Babies who get physical affection seem to have better chances of being happy adults. This responds to the oxytocin they’ve released when feeling love and connection.

Did you know hugging your baby can make them succeed?

Many studies highlight the relationship between parental affection and children’s happiness, health, and success in the future. The brain starts developing in the womb, but the skills to use it come after birth. During the child’s development, the child learns the patterns repeatedly shown to them and slowly develops their way to showing emotions independently.

Places that show a primary role in developing memory, decisionmaking, and emotional responses. It’s been studied that if specific experiences don’t happen during the crucial stages in development, it’ll decrease brain development in places called the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex. Also, serotonin, cortisol, and dopamine hormones are a huge part of our behavior, mental health, stress levels, learning, motivation, and cognitive development.

Even though it will take some time for a baby to verbalize their feelings, the studies show the importance of teaching this to infants. Babies given physical and emotional affection tend to cry less and sleep better. Studies show that these babies’ brain development is boosted, facilitated, and constructed. A newborn comes from a very restrictive environment. Everything that simulates their former conditions in the womb comforts them. Being hugged and hearing the heartbeat again is familiar to them because they’ve listened to it for the past nine months. High self-esteem, improved academic performance, communication skills, and selfawareness are also linked to this affection. Studies show that children who receive much physical love have more elevated hormones called oxytocin and vasopressin. These hormones affect your emotions and social bonding. The lack of these skills tends to cause aggressive behavior, depression, and suicidal tendencies in later life. People who lacked affection as children also struggled with mental health, were more upset in social situations, and were less able to relate to others.

Studies also show that infants lacking touch and affection had higher levels of cortisol stress hormone. These changes were seen in those people, even as adults. Scientists believe the lack of physical contact significantly affected those material changes. The babies who received affection as babies are less likely to feel anxiety, hostility, stress, and psychosomatic symptoms. Babies that receive so-called “harsh parenting” are promoting insecure attachment. As grown-ups, it’s likely for these adults to lack skills in emotional behavior and social relationships. As adults, instead of good behavior and independence, they are shown to be hesitant, insecure, and unable to express themselves freely. They tend to have more trouble with self-awareness and have more trust issues.

Sentiments that state that too much warmth and affection will lead to clingy and codependent adults are proven wrong by science. By showing the child that punishment does not mean a reduction of parental love, the child learns to navigate healthy boundaries better as an adult.

Taika Soihtu

Sources: spsp: How a Parent’s Affection Shapes a Child’s Happiness scientificamerican: How Important Is Physical Contact with Your Infant? urbanchildinstitute: No Such Thing As Too Much Love babysensory: The Power Of Touch psychcentral: How Being Unloved in Childhood May Affect You as an Adult duodecim: Tunteet, varhainen vuorovaikutus ja aivojen toiminnallinen kehitys