Why is cuddling so important for children?

Hugs make us feel really good. When we are sad and disappointed, a warm hug can reduce physical stress and pain. When we are happy or rejoicing, we hope to share our joy and pleasure with others through hugs. But besides warmth and intimacy, hugs have many other benefits. For young children, a 20-second hug can make our children happier, more resilient, and closer to their parents. 1. Physical contact, hugging and caressing are key elements of brain development. The healthy growth of young children requires many different sensory stimulations. Skin-to-skin contact and body caress are the most important types of perception and sensory stimulation for the healthy growth of infants and young children’s brains and bodies. The famous Haro rhesus monkey experiment found that compared to food feeding to ensure survival, the sense of security and comfort provided by physical contact is equally important to the survival of young monkeys. Research based on children in orphanages in Eastern Europe has found that due to the lack of opportunities for children to have verbal and physical contact with adults and the deprivation of emotional communication, these children have varying degrees of emotional cognitive and motor development delays and disorders, especially in emotional expression. On the Internet, these children appear to be demented, withdrawn and indifferent, and do not know how to interact with other people. 2. Physical contact, hugging and caressing are key elements of physical development. Not only for children’s brain development, parents’ physical touch also plays an important role in children’s physical development. When a child is hugged and caressed by his mother or a close caregiver, the child\’s brain releases oxytocin, known as the \”love hormone.\” This love hormone plays many important roles in our physical development, one of which is stimulating growth and development. Warm, powerful, and loving hugs stimulate the secretion of oxytocin, thereby increasing growth hormone and promoting the growth and development of children. Sometimes, when our children fall and scratch their skin and cry loudly, we often say, \”Mom, give me a hug. It won’t hurt after a hug.\” Hugging and comforting not only provide psychological comfort to children. , but there really is a biological neuropsychological principle of flattening the secretion levels of stress hormones. 3. Children who are often hugged and caressed have better emotional regulation ability. If the child\’s growth environment lacks interaction with adults, the baby\’s environment will become an unresponsive dead environment. Adult caregivers have a reinforcing effect on young infants\’ behavioral responses when infants and young children engage in spontaneous behaviors such as smiling, babbling, waving hands to grab toys, dancing, etc. If adults can respond and encourage the child and provide timely reinforcement, the child\’s enthusiasm for activities will be strengthened, and the baby will explore and try more. Neuron cells in the brain are constantly developing and pruning, just like muscles. Neuron cells that are regularly used and exercised will develop stronger. From a physiological mechanism point of view, one of the main ways of parent-child communication is physical contact, especially before infants and young children have language skills. Touching, hugging, kissing, and gently caressing the baby by the mother or primary caregiverRocking is the baby\’s happy emotion center and a prerequisite for system development. If there is a lack of this kind of stimulation, the child\’s emotional center will be underdeveloped, and the child\’s emotions and emotions will also be hindered. During the early critical period of nervous system development between 0 and 3 years old, we often provide children with intimate caresses, which directly increases the secretion levels of important hormones such as oxytocin, thereby laying an important foundation for stress balance in children. This is when we become adults. Later, the physiological basis of emotional self-control and regulation. Good emotional self-control not only means better learning and memory abilities, but also directly shapes better social skills. 4. A loving hug can save an emotional breakdown. A loving hug is a life-saving elixir for children and parents in emotional storms. When a 2- to 3-year-old child is in the emotional storm of a tantrum, there is nothing more healing than a big, warm hug. Many parents worry that when we hug a child who is dancing and throwing a tantrum, we are reinforcing their bad behavior. Young children\’s nervous systems are immature, and their ability to suppress impulses and self-emotion regulation is lacking. This is why some 2-3 year olds cannot stop themselves from strong emotional storms. To use an analogy, emotional regulation is like a car, and the excitement center and calmness center of our brain nerves, like the accelerator and brake, independently control our children\’s emotional car. A child who cries constantly in the midst of an emotional storm is like a car that has stepped on the accelerator but failed to brake. Do we choose to watch our children overtaking and speeding down the highway? Or help the child apply the brakes to save him? Our physical hugs (holding the child\’s arms and legs flailing, waiting quietly and accompanying him) can help the child soothe the over-excited cerebral cortex. The \”love hormones\” delivered by physical hugs can reduce the release of stress hormones and produce anti-depressant and anti-anxiety calming effects. The embrace of love, stepping on the brakes while relaxing the accelerator, and then saving our children who are overtaking in the emotional storm. So give me a hug first, and then preach after calming down. 5. Children who are often hugged warmly are more resilient and resistant to stress, and are more willing to independently explore the warmth and acceptance of their parents. Intimate caress is an important resource for children\’s psychological growth. Optimism, self-esteem, self-confidence, curiosity and independence are important growth resources for predicting children\’s future physical and mental health. Children who often receive warm hugs from their parents can feel that they are loved, understood, affirmed and trusted, and often have a higher self-evaluation of themselves and think that they are a great child. Even if I encounter failures and setbacks, I firmly believe that I can return to the safe haven of my parents\’ arms to comfort myself, heal myself, and recharge my batteries. Over time, children will have the confidence and foundation to be bold and confident, and to explore independently. Having said this, some parents worry that holding their children too much will make their children vulnerable, thereby hindering their independence. Indeed, in real life, some children who are naturally sensitive and cautious will instinctively retreat into their mother\’s arms when faced with new stimuli. Mom and dad always want me to have more sexTo train your child, you cannot always hold him or her. The more you hold him, the more timid you will become, so you will deliberately separate yourself from the child and push the child away. But later, many parents and teachers discovered that these naturally cautious children became more timid as they practiced. Why is this so? Simply because for this type of child, it is more important to have a safe base and safe haven – the ever-open arms and protection of a parent. The more confident a child is, the more he can feel that his parents are firmly supporting him, and the more likely the child will be able to take the initiative and explore boldly. With more active exploration and cognition, children will develop stronger learning and memory abilities, better social communication and cooperation abilities. If things go on like this, a gap will form in IQ, teamwork and leadership skills. 6. Hugging can enhance parent-child attachment. Physical hugging promotes trust between parents and children, reduces fear and fear, and improves our relationship. Physical touch and hugs with parents and primary caregivers can well promote children\’s secure attachment and achieve a good parent-child connection. So after seeing this, we might as well give our children more loving kisses and hugs after getting up every day, before going to bed, and after returning home from get off work/school!