POSITIVE TOUCH promotes neurobiological and social health.

Every age can benefit from positive, welcomed touch. When we are raised nested, we enjoy

being affectionate with others. Human babies are much more immature, social and malleable

than are other animals where most studies of touch effects have taken place. So be careful of

advocacy for separating a baby from nurturers. Babies should never be forced into

isolation but should be in arms, or have nearly constant touch.

WHY IS POSITIVE TOUCH IMPORTANT IN EARLY CHILDHOOD?

Animal studies show:

• Losing contact with the parent is distressing. 
• 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).
• Multiple systems are regulated by the presence of the mother or trusted nurturer 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). And human babies are much more immature at birth and more affected by social stress.
• 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).

WHAT CARERS CAN DO:

• Carry, hold, rock your baby as much as possible.
• Follow baby’s preferences: they prefer to be upright, especially during feeding, 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).