Touch
Touch is an essential means for an infant to feel connected to his primary caregivers and is also necessary for physical and cognitive growth. Infants need to be held and cared for with comforting, respectful touch that is contingent on their cues. By noticing how an infant responds to touch, parents can regulate the amount and pressure of their touch accordingly. Some infants may be more sensitive to touch and pull away or cry; this is an infant’s cue that touch needs to be offered gradually. Over time, parents will come to know their babies cues with greater ease, which in turn can strengthen the sense of security between parent and child. Allowing your child to make his own decisions about touch will reinforce the feeling that he is in charge of his own body. Children respond and learn best through respectful touch.
Caring, contingent touch helps infants learn to regulate their nervous systems and can be particularly helpful for infants who have spent time in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) or who have experienced multiple medical interventions through the course of birth. For these infants, contingent touch can be reparative, and as a result these infants often sleep better and are more easily calmed. “Kangaroo Care” describes the practice, often implemented for preterm infants, of providing babies with daily skin-to-skin contact with their parents. Beneficial for full and preterm infants, this practice is shown to regulate an infant’s heart, breathing, and body temperature.
See also:
Body/Body Awareness
Infant Cues
Infant Massage
Mutual Regulation/Co-Regulation