Effects of Affection

 

Hello! Welcome back to my blog. As I have mentioned before what I write is my opinion and my intentions are never to offend anyone. If you don’t agree with me that is ok. Today I want to talk about affection within the family. I came from an extended family where if you didn’t say hi and give everyone a kiss on the cheek you were disrespectful. If you forgot to say hi to a family member there was going to be drama. My immediate family gives hugs when we haven’t seen each other in a while, and kisses on the cheek when we leave. When we were younger my mom would come into our rooms and night and give us kisses. This was just normal to us and we didn’t know any different. I didn’t know that in different families this was not as common, and this made me wonder if this had any effect on the children in the families that don’t show as much affection and emotion to each other. According to one study families who showed more affections made their children more sensitive and more in tune to their emotions. People who are more aware of their emotions are better able to control their feelings towards other. Children who were shown more affection during childhood are shown to thrive more then others. The affection made them have more of a connection towards their parents and siblings. Also, children who had parents who would talk about what was going on in the family such as stress, were actually better able to handle their own stress throughout their own lives. Children who were shown more affection during childhood displayed less signs of depression and anxiety and are more compassionate overall. If parents themselves did not come from a family where a lot of affection or emotion was shown, then they are less likely to show emotion and affection to their own children. Children who were not shown as much affection in childhood have reported to struggle more with mental health, tended to be more upset in social situations, and were less able to relate to other people’s perspectives. Also, if a child does not have a close relationship with one of their caretakers then they can have attachment issues. If a child’s emotions are neglected this can damage a child’s self-esteem and emotional health. Neglecting a child’s emotion teaches them that their feelings are not important. The consequences of this neglect can last a lifetime. If there is not a lot of affection being shared at home, then in a romantic relationship they may not show affection to their partner. There are many reasons why someone should show affections to others. Physical affection releases feel-good hormones lower blood pressure, males you appear more trustworthy, and reduces stress hormones. In a romantic relationship these are important, but I can also see how this would be important to children. By showing affection to your child this will help them better handle stress and make them trust you more. I am not a parent, but I can’t understand why people wouldn’t want this bond with their child. I know with my nieces and nephews I would want nothing more then to have a strong bond with them. Even as they are getting older, I still hug them and give them kisses. One day they will hate that I even try to hug them and one day they might think I am not as cool as I am to them now, but they will always know I love them and that they can trust me. My older niece is eleven and her brother is nine and sometimes they don’t want to me hug them and that’s ok but there was one moment when the nine year old was feeling sad and he walked up to me and gave me a hug because he knew I would give him a hug and back and in that moment he needed that. I think showing affection to family and friends is so important.