Love Is What Makes Babies Bond
In January, in February, in March, in April … whatever your month of birth. But lucky are those who are born covered in kisses, in affection and care. Indeed, this gift is a great chance that we rarely value: when we receive it, we are very far from understanding the immense luck we have to have lived our first years of life in a full environment. love where we were able to forge secure emotional ties.
Newborns are able to smell love, kindness, rejection… that’s why from the first year of life, they prefer to be accompanied by certain people and not others. Even before taking his first steps, the baby already begins to bond with the emotions and to establish the foundations of what will be his emotional development: a fascinating process in which he will be immersed throughout his life. One of the first steps in this development will be to forge emotional ties.
If you take the time to think about it, you will probably realize that babies and adults are not that different when it comes to choosing the people they prefer and weaving together. emotional ties with them. The explanation seems simple: we learn to differentiate between those who treat us well and make us feel good and those from whom we cannot expect anything.
Different studies maintain that emotional ties are fundamental for a baby. For example, Harlow’s experiment shows that deprivation of maternal responses causes problems in the process of children’s development and learning. These problems can range from developmental difficulties in children to emotional problems.
This bond is built when parents provide the child with a series of lasting attentions that go beyond meeting basic needs, such as food or shelter. We are talking to you here about protection, well-being, physical contact, tenderness, support in situations of discomfort, etc.
The emotional intensity of babies should not be underestimated, for it is during their first years of life that they begin to carefully organize all their social experiences; meticulously, because they do not lose a crumb of everything they observe around them, absorbing all the differences they notice and showing preferences towards them.
The baby deals with the world through his senses : touch, smell, taste, sight and hearing are his vital weapons of learning and which allow him to bond with mum and dad as well as to everyone around them. Their complex thought channels are not yet open, and the way they interact mainly comes down to their impulses.
Infants innately have a preference for the human voice. So every time they hear the voices of their reference figures, different parts of their brain activate and begin to make thousands of connections necessary for the developmental process.
On the other hand, babies respond quickly to skin-to-skin contact and eye contact. Both act as natural relaxants for them, as well as promote physical growth and general optimal development of the newborn.
Every moment is a perfect opportunity to cuddle or hug your baby. However, it is no less certain that there are certain moments which are more sensitive and conducive to the creation of the bond. We are referring here to those temporal places which, although they often seem obvious, are generally overlooked.
The first of all, of course, happens when the mother picks up her baby immediately after giving birth to breastfeed her since at that time the newborn is particularly receptive. Unfortunately, some deliveries have complications and from birth the baby needs treatment; however, it is no less certain that it is always very positive that the mother takes advantage of this moment.
The following breastfeeds are wonderful times to continue forging this bond. Whether breastfed or bottle-fed, it’s a perfect opportunity to take advantage of him, to look him in the eye and talk to him. Quickly, babies tend to imitate the facial expressions, gestures and sounds of their reference figures.
Bathing with your baby, imitating his movements, giving him adapted massages, or just getting up in the middle of the night to bottle or breast feed him and change his diaper are little moments that help establish the bond of attachment with the baby.
Bonding with children is a unique and personal experience, highly enriching; ultimately, it is one of the best privileges that come with the title of “parents”. There is no magic formula that says how this connection should be made because there are no steps that are not worth going through or that are less important than others when it comes time to broadcast. tenderness and love. It is a natural process to which only parents should devote themselves.
The period of time that children are small is very fleeting, but this is where the solid foundations are created on which children build the emotional bonds that unite them with their trusted people and the personality that will accompany them during the rest. of their life. Tell yourself that what parents manage to pass on to their children at such times, the latter will always carry with them.
To you, moms and dads, the first years of life go by very quickly, so enjoy your baby without limits with kisses, hugs and caresses, enjoy all these emotions and these unforgettable experiences to share. Finally, give him all of you and let him love you.
