The Importance of touch in child development

When a baby is born, the first instance of contact or communication to them is by touch. Hence why it is the first sense that we develop as infants. Touch sensitivity is the most fundamental and primitive kind of communication. As soon as a baby is born, they are placed belly down on a mother or a father’s chest. This is known as, skin-to-skin contact, it is displayed in the picture above. Many people think that this is done for the parent to get to know their infant. Actually, it is done for the many health benefits that it provides for the overall development of the infant through their developmental journey into adulthood and later on. Skin-to-skin contact helps children feel safe and secure and fosters trust between them and their parents. Strong bonds can be made through physical interaction with adults, laying the groundwork for enduring connections in the future. (Zingaretti et al., 2019)

What Does Developmental Research say about Touch?

  • According to a literature review by Field (1998) found that preterm infants who got just three 15-minute touch therapy sessions per day for five to ten days acquired 47 percent more weight than those who had received regular medical care.

  • Additionally, research discovered that rats whose moms frequently licked and groomed them as infants grew up to be calmer, more stress-resistant, and with a better immune system. This study explains why, historically, a vast majority of human babies kept in orphanages where their caregivers denied them touch failed to reach their expected weight or height and displayed behavioral issues. (Champagne et al., 2003)

  • In a child's critical period, which is a crucial period of an organism's development when its nervous system is particularly sensitive to external environmental stimuli, such as touch. The critical period of development occurs between the ages of 2 and 7. At the beginning of this period, adults have half as many synapses, (brain cell connections) as two-year-olds do. The synapses allows the brain to learn things faster and make connections. Experiences within this period can have a long lasting effect on the persons development. (Vogel, 2012)

  • Physical touch can lower cortisol levels in moms and kids, improving immune system performance. Parents can promote improved social, emotional, and physical development in children by consistently giving them caring contact. (Perry, 2021)

  • Lastly as mentioned in our modules, lack of tactile stimulation can cause a disease known as Marasmus. "Infants who are not touched may experience learning and health problems or even death." (Brann, 2022)

Have you ever wondered why caregivers seem to be experts in interpreting what their non-speaking child needs?

It is because of baby cues and the nonverbal communications that the baby send their caregiver! Baby Cues are different for every baby. Cues help the parents understand and know more what their child needs. Touching and being in contact with a child will influence and help the parents pick up the different cues that their child is sharing with them. Watch this video to get yourself familiar with some cues!

Function, and Meanings of Touch/Haptics between Caregivers and Infants

In this project, I focused on the importance of appropriate caregiver touch on their own children/infants. From the types of touch that are mentioned in our textbook, parents and caregivers are more likely to engage in patting, stroking, kissing, linking, holding, guiding, embracing, grooming and tickling touching behaviors towards their children. All of which are important in the development of their child. It's is important to note that the child does not only need to be touched, they need to also have the flexibility to explore their surroundings by their own touch. This would be a good way for them to learn shapes, colors and textures.

From the Functions of touch from the textbook, a child and a parent relationship would be categorized under the love-intimacy and the friendship-warmth functions of touch. This is because the love-intimacy function is good at expressing emotional connections. As mentioned before, sharing this type of touch function would later help your child develop their own emotional connections with others. The friendship warmth function is really good at letting another person know that you care for them, this touch function is typically used more and more as the child ages.

The main meaning of touch that I covered is closely related to touch as a positive affect. The parent or caregiver is responsible for positively affecting the child or infant. This is because it involves showing support, reassurance, appreciation and affection towards the child to promote healthy development.