A mother's touch

Alice in Wonderland by George Dunlop Leslie, 1879


One of the recommendations in Growing a Reading Culture - Just for Parents, is to make reading personal. When children are young and being introduced to reading, the mere act of snuggling up close has strongly affirming qualities. Now here is some interesting additional confirmation of the recommendation, though not as it relates to reading per se.

Researchers have found that a woman touching a person carries strongly reassuring connotations which encourage greater confidence and risk taking. The researchers speculate that this is a product of childhood interactions with mothers. If so, it adds a dimension to the recommendation to snuggle up close and read together. Reading, in the early days, is a challenging proposition. If a child's association with Mom is one which does indeed encourage a sense of self-confidence and a willingness to take risks, then that can only be helpful when it comes to tackling the art of reading.

The research is reported in this article.