Little Kids Have Needs Just Like Everyone Else

 This week we talked about kids. Kids are so beyond wonderful. They can be little nightmares sometimes but overall; kids are pretty great. I really enjoyed talking about kids in class and the way they act and the things they need.

The first thing we talked about was physical touch. I am a firm believer that physical touch is super important. Sadly, for today’s world I feel that this needs a mention because it doesn’t seem to be common knowledge. Kids should not be touched inappropriately. Ever. I don’t believe in child abuse or child molestation. That is just down right disgusting. To those who abuse children either way, shame on you.

Well now that that is out of the way let me continue on with what I thought was interesting and/or important.

Something I know is a really big thing today is the skin to skin thing after mothers give birth. The mom is given the baby and they sit skin to skin for a little bit as a bonding moment. My sister gave birth recently to a healthy baby boy. She got to do skin to skin with him, but she was telling me with her oldest child who is now 5 and a half, she didn’t get to do the skin to skin and that the baby was rushed away to be cleaned up and all those other hospital things they do to babies.

My teacher told us of a country, and I am seriously going to botch this story because I didn’t write it down, but pretty much there were a bunch of babies born that didn’t get any physical touch like, ever and they ended up having a bunch of problems like poor social skills and some of them I believe were very mentally challenged (don’t quote me on this but just know that the kids had some serious issues).

In my family, I grew up with 4 siblings. I am in the middle of the 5 kids and it is pretty great. We are touchy people. While my dad was in the army we lived in houses that typically only had 3 bedrooms (maybe 4) and with having 5 kids we had to share beds. I either shared with the sister right above me or the sister right below me. We grew up as snugglers. Always cuddling and sneaking in to my parents bed in the mornings to cuddle with them too.

We are religious people and would say a prayer together as a family almost every night. After the prayer we would get up and give hugs and kisses to everyone individually. As I got older, we continued this tradition and during especially hard times I would sit and hug my mom for an extra long time. I love hugs.

Me and my sisters would always give little love taps to each other’s bums as a sign of affection. My brother started doing it to us too and eventually started doing it to close friends as well. Again, no touching in the past or present of my life has ever been inappropriate.

In class we talked about how a simple touch on the shoulder can be loving and a simple hand on the knee can be comforting. Kids crave goodhearted physical touch. Adults crave it too. Kids acting out and being disruptive or showing bad behavior are acting out usually for the lack of that love and affection that they crave to feel.

It is so sad these days how people wont even talk to one another when walking out and about. No one says hi to each other, they don’t smile and they don’t wave. People are afraid of being social but still crave that interaction.

Do yourself and others around you a favor and wave to them every once in a while. Say hi to a passerby. The world needs a little more friendliness and kindness going around and less nastiness and hatred.