I'll Love Him, And Squeeze Him...And Call Him George: Why Showing Babies Lots Of Love Can Help Build A Better Life and Future For Them.

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By Mia Bolaris-Forget

Parents can't help but love and nurture their children...and now studies give them another VERY GOOD reason to do so. According to statistics, children who are raised in an environment where they receive lots of love and affection seem to be happier and do better as adults.

The results are based on one of several studies that followed participants from childhood into adulthood with experts noting the quality of the interactions between mothers and their 8-month-old babies, rating the affection each mom gave her child from negative to excessive.

Years later the now adult children were evaluated for various specific issues including anxiety, hostility and general levels of distress. According to experts, those former children that had the most affectionate moms (as infants) grew up to have the lowest levels of anxiety, hostility and general distress.

According to experts and the study, the variance in anxiety levels between the grownup infants who had affectionate moms and those whose moms showed little maternal nurturing was greater than seven points. And, the difference was three points with regard to hostility and five points with regard to overall distress.

Experts assert that the first three years of a child's life are the most critical for the development of intellect, emotion, and social abilities. In fact, they say that's when a child learns to give and receive love. In addition, it is in this time period that the child learns confidence, security, and empahyt...and well as learning about being curious and persistent....all essential life and social skills in learning to deal with others and to lead a happy, satisfactory, and productive life.

They (the experts) go on to add that nurturing children is about the way parents love them and about how parents raise them; claiming that a parents love is each child's destiny and the legacy we give them.

Their final word is that a loved and nurtured baby is a happy, healthy one who grows up to be a happy, healthy, adult.

Long Island Family Life & Parenting Articles > I'll Love Him, And Squeeze Him...And Call Him George: Why Showing Babies Lots Of Love Can Help Build A Better Life and Future For Them.