Something to touch up on

So many songs and poems wouldn't mention the idea of holding someone close if more than just how something felt was all that our sense of touch offered. Our sense of touch is sometimes overlooked because of how basic it might seem, but that is not the case. Touch goes so much deeper than that and can trigger emotions, warn of about our surroundings and is was very important in our growth. In Ackerman's book a Natural History of the senses she went into great detail about the research done on development and touch. For starters the one thing that really peaked my interest was how babies that lacked a human connection of touch did not mature in the same way that a baby who was touched by someone often. This was also true for baby rats and monkeys. However what I thought was really interesting was the fact a lot of touch was not needed. In the case of baby monkeys even if the mom was not able to hold her baby, but was able to hold its hand the baby monkey turned out fine. This goes to show how deep and reliant we are on this connection of touch.

Another huge part about touch is the emotions that come with it as well. In the same way that we smell something and have a memory about that smell touch does the same thing. For example, when someone you care about or love hugs you it gives you a sense of security and warmth. This is very important in the world of love and dating. Being touched by someone who has this type of importance to you is more valuable than actually touching someone. For some reason the idea of receiving and in the case of touch is a lot more important than giving. By looking at touch in this way I believe that is why it is so important for young of any mammal to be touched in a loving and caring way.