The Human Touch

hako · Guru

The Human Touch

Gerty Dancer · Guru

Ah yes it exists all right hako. Babies thrive so much better when touched/cuddled as much as possible. Poor little mites in humidicribs used to be slower to thrive before they started to allow parents to touch and hold their tiny babes. Elderly folk who are on their own and lonely, respond to a simple touch too... and all of us in between. I'm not surprised your son liked real fingers on his skin even better than the mechanical brush.
Good on you, give her a proper foot massage !

deconuts · Veteran Member

Hey GD, love the new pic of the coast.

deconuts · Veteran Member

Every time my daughter comes home from uni, she always asks for two things, a roast lamb dinner and one of my fingertip tickles on her legs, which usually lasts nearly an hour! smile

hako · Guru

But why is it that even with your eyes closed you can still tell if it is human?

Cruising Granny · Guru

Animals have fur, spiders feel light and tingly.
I hate anyone touching my feet. A pedicure is an ordeal, but my feet need the attention.
Some mongrel adult tickled my feet until I was hysterical when I was small, and my parents did nothing to stop it. I never forgot.
Something similar was done by an elderly family friend of my grand parents who cared for me from the age of 6 to 14 after my mother died. He called it a "dry shave" - rasping 5 o'clock shadow over my face. Grrrrr! I hated it, and I have issues with beards and any face fur now.
Tenderness and that loving feeling is wonderful if it is delivered by the right person.
I used to give my youngest daughter "fairy massages". The finger tip touch all over. She seemed to calm down every time.

GaryKelly · Guru

While I agree that human touch is vital for babies and to a lesser extent older children, touchy feely people make me nervous. I applaud families who engage in lots of hugging and affection but I can't handle it myself. It's obviously the result of being raised in a family environment where such expressions of love and caring were non existent. I honestly have no memory of ever seeing my parents kiss, or even hug for that matter. They had four boys so a bit of slap and tickle wasn't entirely absent. Maybe they thought expressions of affection were private matters and not for the kids to witness. Who knows? I do remember as a small child giving my mother a little peck on the cheek before leaving for school each day. but that was about it.

The dog lady · Guru

I think that's kind of sad Gary, though obviously we all have our own preferences. I have a friend who says she could never comfortably hug even her own children once they were no longer littlies, but she says she regrets that. My family (being of European origin) are the "touchy feely" type you refer to, and hugs are a necessary part of the family ties. For me, there is nothing quite like a bear hug from my 6'3" son, or the throat squeeze hug from my 4yo granddaughter. But I must confess, I'm glad women are not really expected to shake hands as I do not like touching strangers at all, and I really don't like people I barely know invading my personal space. Complicated creatures we humans aren't we :)

Gerty Dancer · Guru

And we hope Joy is feeling better now hako???