Have you hugged your kids today?
Have you hugged your kids today? This isn’t just “bumper sticker” philosophy. In my family, the family palmer as I like to call it we know the importance of physical affectionate it is important totouch kids of every age to let them know you are there. It shows them without words that you care.
A child’s experience with touch is crucial to his or her ability to relate affectionately later in life. It’s certainly true that no one would expect a mother, for example, to indulge in as much physical behaviour with an adolescent as she would with an infant. Our needs for affection change relative to the time of life.
With this mind it is important to realise demonstrated love and affection is important to our mental and physical health at every age. Do you know that our actual body chemistry changes when we are physically close to another? It is true. Many studies have now conclusively demonstrated that touch, especially caring touch, can boost the strength of our immune system, increase the oxygen carrying hemoglobin in our blood, and in general, make us happier and healthier human beings.
If you’ve don’t feel comfortable affectionately touching those you love, its a good idea to work out how you might go about gradually changing things and the benefits that might accrue.
Keep in mind that physical closeness is only one way of expressing love, but it is a vital element in most caring relationships.