My darling wife Joy is currently crook with a coughing bug - means being house-bound, misreable and sitting in a comfortable lounge. Every now and then as I pass by her outstretched legs to throw another log on the fire, I will tickle the underside of her feet and will always get the reply 'you can do that to me all night'.
Quite a few years ago one of our sons had pretty bad exzema meaning he was itchy all the time. Out of frustration I made a 'tickling machine' - basically a soft brush that slowly rotated and my son would lie under it whilst it brushed over his body. This helped him but absolute heaven to him was to have someone run their fingers over his skin.
My question: just what is this human touch, why do we identify it and desire it. Does it exist or is it all in our minds.
Gerty Dancer said
03:26 AM Jul 11, 2013
Ah yes it exists all right hako. Babies thrive so much better when touched/cuddled as much as possible. Poor little mites in humidicribs used to be slower to thrive before they started to allow parents to touch and hold their tiny babes. Elderly folk who are on their own and lonely, respond to a simple touch too... and all of us in between. I'm not surprised your son liked real fingers on his skin even better than the mechanical brush.
Good on you, give her a proper foot massage !
deconuts said
03:35 AM Jul 11, 2013
Hey GD, love the new pic of the coast.
deconuts said
03:52 AM Jul 11, 2013
Every time my daughter comes home from uni, she always asks for two things, a roast lamb dinner and one of my fingertip tickles on her legs, which usually lasts nearly an hour!
hako said
04:13 AM Jul 11, 2013
But why is it that even with your eyes closed you can still tell if it is human?
Cruising Granny said
04:35 AM Jul 11, 2013
Animals have fur, spiders feel light and tingly.
I hate anyone touching my feet. A pedicure is an ordeal, but my feet need the attention.
Some mongrel adult tickled my feet until I was hysterical when I was small, and my parents did nothing to stop it. I never forgot.
Something similar was done by an elderly family friend of my grand parents who cared for me from the age of 6 to 14 after my mother died. He called it a "dry shave" - rasping 5 o'clock shadow over my face. Grrrrr! I hated it, and I have issues with beards and any face fur now.
Tenderness and that loving feeling is wonderful if it is delivered by the right person.
I used to give my youngest daughter "fairy massages". The finger tip touch all over. She seemed to calm down every time.
GaryKelly said
03:24 AM Jul 12, 2013
While I agree that human touch is vital for babies and to a lesser extent older children, touchy feely people make me nervous. I applaud families who engage in lots of hugging and affection but I can't handle it myself. It's obviously the result of being raised in a family environment where such expressions of love and caring were non existent. I honestly have no memory of ever seeing my parents kiss, or even hug for that matter. They had four boys so a bit of slap and tickle wasn't entirely absent. Maybe they thought expressions of affection were private matters and not for the kids to witness. Who knows? I do remember as a small child giving my mother a little peck on the cheek before leaving for school each day. but that was about it.
The dog lady said
04:19 AM Jul 12, 2013
I think that's kind of sad Gary, though obviously we all have our own preferences. I have a friend who says she could never comfortably hug even her own children once they were no longer littlies, but she says she regrets that. My family (being of European origin) are the "touchy feely" type you refer to, and hugs are a necessary part of the family ties. For me, there is nothing quite like a bear hug from my 6'3" son, or the throat squeeze hug from my 4yo granddaughter. But I must confess, I'm glad women are not really expected to shake hands as I do not like touching strangers at all, and I really don't like people I barely know invading my personal space. Complicated creatures we humans aren't we :)
My darling wife Joy is currently crook with a coughing bug - means being house-bound, misreable and sitting in a comfortable lounge. Every now and then as I pass by her outstretched legs to throw another log on the fire, I will tickle the underside of her feet and will always get the reply 'you can do that to me all night'.
Quite a few years ago one of our sons had pretty bad exzema meaning he was itchy all the time. Out of frustration I made a 'tickling machine' - basically a soft brush that slowly rotated and my son would lie under it whilst it brushed over his body. This helped him but absolute heaven to him was to have someone run their fingers over his skin.
My question: just what is this human touch, why do we identify it and desire it. Does it exist or is it all in our minds.
Good on you, give her a proper foot massage !
Hey GD, love the new pic of the coast.
Every time my daughter comes home from uni, she always asks for two things, a roast lamb dinner and one of my fingertip tickles on her legs, which usually lasts nearly an hour!
I hate anyone touching my feet. A pedicure is an ordeal, but my feet need the attention.
Some mongrel adult tickled my feet until I was hysterical when I was small, and my parents did nothing to stop it. I never forgot.
Something similar was done by an elderly family friend of my grand parents who cared for me from the age of 6 to 14 after my mother died. He called it a "dry shave" - rasping 5 o'clock shadow over my face. Grrrrr! I hated it, and I have issues with beards and any face fur now.
Tenderness and that loving feeling is wonderful if it is delivered by the right person.
I used to give my youngest daughter "fairy massages". The finger tip touch all over. She seemed to calm down every time.