3. Positive Moving Touch

Evolved Nest Component #3 of 9

POSITIVE TOUCH promotes neurobiological and social health.

Human babies are much more social and malleable than are other animals where most studies of touch effects have taken place. For example, although mild and graded separation in early days for a rat can help offspring cope with the stress of separation (Katz et al., 2009), for humans this would be starting at age four or later.

WHAT CARERS CAN DO:

· Carry, hold, rock your baby as much as possible.

· Follow baby’s preferences: they prefer to be upright unless lying next to you.

· Stay physically close 24/7.

· Each caregiver should practice skin-to-skin contact as much as possible.

· For older children, play with them in whole body ways. Cuddles and roughhouse!

WHAT EVERYONE CAN DO:

· Show affection to your family and friends (with agreed-upon hugs, pats, high fives)

· Expect people to be affectionate towards friends and family (in wanted ways).

WHY IS POSITIVE TOUCH IMPORTANT?

Animal studies show:

· Losing contact with the parent is distressing.

· Multiple systems are regulated by the presence of the mother and quickly become dysregulated when she is physically absent (Hofer, 1994).

· Physical separation activates painful emotions (Ladd, Owens, & Nemeroff, 1996; Panksepp, 2003; Sanchez, Ladd, & Plotsky, 2001).

· Even a few minutes of separation in rat babies causes lifelong changes in stress response (Levine, 2005).

· Monkeys isolated from adults when babies spend their lives with deficits of 5-HIAA, a main metabolite of serotonin (critical for intelligence, happiness, social behavior) (e.g., Kalin, 1999; Suomi, 2006).

· Infants need touch to grow and synthesize DNA (Schanberg, 1995).

· Positive touch promotes adaptive behavioral arousals, sleep cycles, social development and exploratory activities (McKenna, 2020; Panksepp, 1998). It has longlasting health benefits for brain development and lowering the risk for depression (Field, 1995).

Click on the image to visit the Evolved Nest's Overview of the Nine Components' Page

28 Days of Baby Care

NOTE: Babies are children under about age 2.5 years.

NOTE: The terms motherliness, mothering, mother love, good enough mothers refer to empathic care or nurturing that mothers and other adults can provide.

There is a lot of misinformation about babies and their needs, and parents are often encouraged to ignore baby’s signals. Bad idea. Babies are “half-baked” at birth and have much to learn with the help of physical and emotional support from caregivers. Taking care of baby’s needs is an investment that pays off with a happier, healthier child and adult. Here are 28 days of reminders about babies and their needs.

Discover the 28 Days of Baby Care campaign prompts to use for your own social media campaign, or daily inspiration!

28 Days of Baby Care Campaign by the Evolved Nest

Click on the image to go to the 28 Days of Baby Care Campaign.

RESOURCES

Supporting The Evolved Nest Means Supporting Your Community

Always pay attention to your child’s reaction and don’t not impose touch when it is not wanted.

More about positive touch and some ideas for families:

https://www.greenchildmagazine.com/sustainable-power-of-touch/

Baby massage

https://www.mamanatural.com/baby-massage/

If you use oil, do NOT use mineral oil or baby oil with mineral oil---it’s a carcinogen.

Baby wearing:

https://www.mamanatural.com/babywearing/

https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-carry-your-baby-African-style/

Teach your baby gesture language from the beginning as a way for a non-verbal baby to communicate needs more directly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVKnVPRklCc

More information on health benefits

https://www.parentingscience.com/responsive-parenting-health-benefits.html

Recommended Books

The Art of Roughhousing

https://www.amazon.com/Art-Roughhousing-Anthony-T-DeBenedet/dp/B01L97OCC4

Read Darcai's post on Kindred.

Community and Institutional Practices

Creating Systemic Change

Community practices refer to everything outside a particular family, so that means policies and practices of neighborhoods, counties, cities, states, schools, and workplaces. Institutions that govern our lives also need to be responsible to promote flourishing in children. Here are some ideas for ways for community practices to support children and families.

Local communities

Government Policies

Professional Organizations

ResearchersEthics

Evolved Nest Articles on Community and Cultural Support, and How They are Missing in America:

The Layers Of Structures That Support Individuals, Families – And How The Pandemic Changed Them
Early Partnership Childhood Care: What Should Centers Provide?