Friday, February 11, 2011

The Vital Touch


This book is a treasure. Filled with examples and convicing real life studies.
Reading this book is like reading a fiction, never wanted to put it down.
The real life observation and examples makes us ponder.
Having experienced the stages from caring for newborn to toddler myself, I can really relate to this book.
At times, I feel like this book is writing for me.
It doesn't only gives reasons why touch is important to children but supportive scientific explaination is given as well.

After reading this book, I find myself not limiting the amount of physical contact with my baby. It is also from this book that I understood more about the importance of touch especially that of parents to babies. Babies do not cry for no reason and does not really know how to use cries to manipulate us, so at times when we leave our babies to cry, we are sending them message that you're insignificant. This is definately not what we want to convey.
I rate this book 4.5 / 5

From the back cover of this book :
A provocative exploration of touch's rople in our babies development.

Why do American babies rank among the least held on earth? Throughout human eveloution, babies have enjoyed initimate physical contact with their mothers. In cultures around the world, parents' arms are used to comfort their babies, from holding and carrying them to rocking them to sleep.

In this probing & insightful book, psychologist Sharon Heller uses evolutionary psychology to examine why social pressures and a desire for self sufficiency have caused Americans to distance ourselves physically from our children. Our overrealiance on infant carriers, strollers, swings and cribs as parenting substitutes often preventing us from attaining physical closeness wih our children, causing increased infant fusiness and creating conflicts to mothers.
Drawing from an inspiring array of cultural & anthropological sources, The Vital Touch explores all the psychological, physiological and sensory benefits that occur when parent & baby are in touch-and what happened when they're not - and show us how we can provide a soothing & nurturing environment in which our children will thrive.

Here is a book that affirm the value of touch as the most essential medium through which we can communicate & bond with our babies.

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