Ne jamais perd de vue le pouvoir impressionnant de touche...

Don't ever lose sight of the awesome power of touch...


Touch is the only sense we cannot live without. Your child could be blind and be fine; she could be deaf and be okay; but without touching and being touched, a child will die. In 1920, Dr. Henry Chapin, a New York pediatrician, reported that the death rate for infants under two years old in institutions across the U.S. was 100%! These infants received adequate food and shelter. What was missing for these babies was caring touch.

Brain research confirms the critical role of touch in our mental and emotional health. When we touch one another, a hormone is released called the nerve growth factor (NGF). This hormone is essential to neural function and learning. We often overlook the fact that our skin is the largest organ of our body and has all sorts of nerve sensors for touch!
{ Becky A. Bailey, Ph.D. – I Love You Rituals }

Sadly, we have become a society of untouchables. It is becoming much easier to shop and buy presents for one another than to give or receive a hug. Infants are put into baby seats to be carried, in car seats to be transported, and in bassinets to sleep. We are becoming trained to touch babies only when they demand our attention. With "time" being the commodity most sought by parents in today's society, a quiet baby who is willing to entertain herself in the infant carrier frees parents to attend to life's other demands. Unfortunately, as we focus on other demands, our children are becoming more demanding.

Touch is becoming more of a metaphor in our society than a reality. When we speak of someone who is removed from reality, we say that he is "out of touch." We speak of people who have a "magic touch" or a "professional touch." We speak of someone who is quick to take offense or overly sensitive as "touchy." We never really feel secure unless we can "hold onto something," nor do we really believe that we understand anything until we have a "grasp on it." If we aren't paying attention, we will lose "touch" with ourselves and our children.

Are you keeping "in touch" with those you love?


L’amour est loin, tu peux l’attendre,
Tu ne l’attends plus, il est là!
Tout autour de toi, vite, vite,
Il vient, s’en va, puis il revient.
Tu crois le tenir,
Il t’évite,
Tu crois l’éviter,
Il te tient.

Love is far away, you can wait for it,
You don’t expect it anymore, there it is!
All around you, quickly, quickly,
It comes, goes away, then comes again.
You think you are holding it,
It escapes from you,
You think you are escaping it,
It grips you.

{ Bizet, Carmen – Habanera }