Touch...A Vital Sense

Touch…it’s a free, priceless and vital gift for health and well-being. But it is more than just an awareness of textures and temperatures. It also conveys emotions. Studies of babies in orphanages have shown that lack of it can result in sickness or even death. Preemies gain more weight more quickly when they receive touch therapy. And for the child who is blind, it is one of his windows to learning.

However, there are children who are tactile defensive. If you suspect your child has tactile defensiveness, let me refer you to a web site of someone who speaks from experience.

With that caveat aside, let’s turn to ways to use this sense to increase and enhance your child’s development.

This sense doesn’t lend itself as well to age categorization, so we won’t use that format. Instead we’ll address how touch affects your child. As a newborn, he’s cuddly. The warmth of his body nestled in your arms or next to your face comforts, calms and reassures him. It conveys your love for him.

Rhythmic, firm pressure as you rub his back soothes his fretfulness and you both fall asleep!

A light, skimming touch alerts him.

Strangely enough, he senses textures more with his mouth in the early months. He probably won’t be able to actually tell the differences tactually until he’s about 6 months old, and even then it will not be well-developed until later. Soft textures comfort the new born. So a colorful quilt can also be tactile. You can even buy soft fabric that looks like a quilt. Most, though, are pastel.

However, I spied a nubby, black fleece fabric as I breezed through the fabric department one day. Close by, on the same rack, a loopy white fabric drew my attention. Stitch those two together and you have a high-contrast quilt that is tactually pleasing.

When her parents moved our granddaughter to her own room, my daughter-in-law asked if I could make a very simple doll to comfort her. So I made a pattern, purchased the “Here Kitty” flannel, stuffed it and there was the doll. Add teddy bear ears to the doll pattern, buy some fleece (or faux fur), and a Teddy Bear results.

It’s okay to expose her to different tactile experiences before she’s six months old even though she won’t be able to distinguish them well.

Her first tooth is about to erupt, so…she’ll enjoy a cool, textured teething ring.

As she adds solid foods to her diet she learns still more textures and temperatures.

Board Books with Textures are available. Some even come with tactile corners for teething. I remember sitting in a book store, glancing at a display rack…and lo and behold, staring at me was the book…Books are for Eating (with the Eating X’d out) Reading (written above Eating) by Suzy Becker…perfect for our granddaughter, and it even had the rubbery corners for teething!

Children love these books. When they know a book is tactile, they often rub their hands across some pictures expecting that they will also be tactual.

Design your own colorful tactile book. Fabrics yield themselves nicely to this creative enterprise. Use solid colors of corduroy, fleece, faux fur, net, satin and sparkly fabrics. Best of all…it’s washable!

Begin to name them for her...soft, smooth, slick, rough, hard, etc.

Play dough, you can purchase it, or there are many kinds you can make...some are even edible!

She will probably enjoy playing in sand. She doesn’t like sand? Then rice or beans in a small plastic container provide tactual sensations as well.

Most children have fun playing in water, with lots of supervision. You already know to be careful with this. Only a few inches can result in a tragedy. She continues to explore her physical world through touch.

She also explores her emotional world through touch. She enjoys giving and getting hugs, and proper touching is life giving and enriching.

So where do you want to go next?

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