I believe that one’s affection for another is best demonstrated by hugging, holding their hand, rubbing their backs, being side by side with them. For Dad’s to roughhouse with their sons and mothers to pamper their daughters is an important part of family life and for children to grow up healthy. Now there is ample scientific evidence to that effect. Dr. Tiffany Fields has done significant research on the subject of touch. She believes healing is all in our hands. Dr. Fields was asked, “How did you get into “touch?” she responded by saying, “I was trying to find ways for premature babies to grow. I had a premature baby myself and was working in neonatal intensive care units. When we had them suck on nipples while tube feeding, they gained more weight. We figured that if stimulating the mouth helped, then touching all over the body would work even better. Some of the effects of that exercise were: Babies gain more weight, they sleep better and relate better to parents. Their brain waves indicate more alertness, and they learn faster. Kids with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or autism also become more attentive. It alleviates depression, too. It decreases stress hormones and increases serotonin, the body’s own antidepressant. It also improves sleep. … It also alters the immune system. In autoimmune problems such as asthma, lung functions improve and asthma attacks decrease. If that is not enough, she goes on to explain everything she has said has been proven by using control groups (those who were not provided the touch therapy). Being touched in this way is as important as proper diet and exercise, and should be part of one’s regular daily activities. What happens when people don’t get their share of touch? Humans become stunted in one way or another. Interestingly, nonhuman animals that are touch-deprived not only lose weight but become aggressive. In a study of 49 non-industrialized cultures, groups showing physical affection toward children had little adult violence; in groups that were less affectionate to kids, adults were significantly more violent.
In a study, we found that there exists more physical affection toward children and less aggression among adults in France than in the United States. The power of touch in our lives seems rooted in our nature, as individuals and as social beings.
The following instruction appeared in 31 books in the 1930s even through 2007
“There is a sensible way of treating children. Treat them as though they were young adults. Dress them, bathe them with care and circumspection. Let your behavior always be objective and kindly firm. Never hug and kiss them, never let them sit in your lap.”
The opposite instruction appears in 7 books from 1979 to 2007:
“I believe that the deprivation of body touch, contact, and movement are the basic causes of a number of emotional disturbances which include depressive and autistic behaviors, hyperactivity, sexual aberration, drug abuse, violence, and aggression.”
In reality, all five senses could be reduced to one—the sense of touch. That is true for the purposes mentioned above but I would never denigrate the importance of all of our senses. Our lives are enhanced through our senses, to see brings health giving light into our bodies. To hear loving comments from others is the next thing to being hugged by them. Touch is especially important because it brings all of the senses together concentrated in one place and at one time. During the infant and formative years hugs and touching are especially important by those who love them and care for them. With the proper touch routines the other senses will probably mature more rapidly. Even as an adult, even an elderly adult, I love to feel the closeness of my wife, even if it is to hold her hand. I pray that all of my descendants will learn this simple truth of touch early on in their lives and make it a major part of the lives and their families lives.