Hugs and Kisses!

So, if your keeping up here, I recently posted some introductory thoughts about the book The Five Love Languages of Children. Today, I want to talk about love language #1, physical touch. For most parents, this language comes fairly easily when your children are young. It seems so instinctive to kiss and rock your baby. Playful wrestling or cuddling while reading to your toddler or preschooler is so natural. But as children get older, it can become an uncomfortable subject. Unfortunately, the times that we live in cause many people to worry that their touching might be misconstrued as inappropriately motivated. However, our children's need for physical touch does not diminsh with age. In fact, children who receive appropriate touch from their parents are less likely to be involved in sexual promiscuity as teenagers and are more confident than children who are not. It may be a simple pat on the back or a big KISS, but for children whose primary love language is physical touch, a kiss is worth a thousand words.