Today’s episode is called Don’t Turn Away Open Arms.  This is something I hear all too often and working with families when people say don’t give your child too much affection because it will ruin them and it really is the opposite. Did you know that affection changes the way brain pathways develop for general learning? It also changes the long-term way the brain and body manage stress.

In a 30-year-old study, which was concluded in 2010, Duke University found that children who have mothers who displayed high amounts of physical affection grew up to experience less mental illness, higher relationships, success, and fewer psychosomatic symptoms.

Physical touch may be your child’s primary way of expressing themselves and it also could be that they are craving closeness to you at times when they may feel anxious, insecure, or just seeking comfort

Please try to pay attention if there are any patterns in regard to when your child wants hugs some examples could be after a firetruck or ambulance has gone by your home, when there’s fighting with siblings or others in the home, or maybe your child just using hugs to help them cope or to feel affirmed.

Please always be aware to make your child feel safe and comfortable and if you feel they are not making adjustments to some of your current routines may be needed.

The bottom line is please don’t listen to people who say you can hug them too much during these formative years. You can certainly introduce alternative methods of expressing physical affection, such as butterfly kisses, high-fives, or squeezing someone’s hand three times to signal I love you.

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