3. positive moving touch

POSITIVE TOUCH like carrying and rocking promote neurobiological health.

What to do:

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

•  Stay physically close 24/7.

•  Practice skin-to-skin contact as much as you can.

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

Why?

Human babies are much more social and malleable than are other animals where most studies of touch have taken place. Animal studies show:

•  Losing contact with the parent is distressing. 

•  Even a few minutes of separation in rat babies causes lifelong changes in stress response (Levine, 2005), which when mild and graded can help the offspring cope with the stress of separation (Katz et al., 2009). 

•  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) 

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

Natives Foster Happy People Without Overthinking

The Dangers of "Crying It Out"

Recovering from "Cry It Out" as an Adult

The Dangers of Spanking a Baby

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!

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?