The Importance of Touch for Children
Children need touch. Research shows that just 15 minutes of daily massage helped premature infants gain weight faster, enabling them to leave hospital sooner than their counterparts. The massaged babies were more relaxed, active and alert. Six months later they continued to be more advanced.
Infants who are held cry less than those who are not. Their immune system is enhanced and they handle stress more efficiently. Touching is part of bonding. Evidence suggests that infants who bond well with their parents grow up to be well-adjusted, sociable people.
The need for touch continues into childhood (and beyond). When diabetic children were massaged for a month, blood glucose levels decreased and they were able to reduce their medication. Asthmatic children had fewer attacks. Massage helped children with autism, severe burns, cancer and arthritis.
The evidence for the benefits of touch is strong. At the same time, in schools and institutions, there is (correctly) a strong focus on trying to prohibit sexual and inappropriate touch. But when appropriate touch is not encouraged, as often happens, then all touch has the potential to become sexualized. Children don't learn to distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate touch. They miss out on a whole range of valuable touch experiences - friendly, nurturing, reassuring, comforting and healing. We should be instilling a sense of what appropriate touch is. Research shows that touch is critical for human development and well-being. Let us encourage the expression of appropriate touch in society.
Jacky Coulter, R.M.T., is the owner of Coulter Clinic in Toronto. She has been a massage therapist for 20 years and has written for a number of publications.
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This article was published by the Association of Early Childhood Educators, Ontario. |
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Posted by the Association of Early Childhood Educators, Ontario, August 1997. |
This site was initiated by the Canadian Child Care Federation and produced under contract to  Industry Canada. |
Ce site a été développé par la Fédération canadienne des services de garde à l'enfance et produit avec l'aide deIndustrie Canada. |
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