The Mother Love Connection Effect

Isn't amazing how mothers can be awaken from a deep slumber by the slightest move her child makes, while  the horrible loud sound of the drilling machine just few meters away from her room cannot even move her?  How, by just a simple lullaby, she can put her child to sleep. How, by just holding her little treasure's tiny hand, the child is convinced that the dentist in a white coat is a friend.  How, by just kissing her tot's slightly wounded knee, she manages to take away the pain. That's how unbelievable mother-child connection can be.  But this does not zero-in to "physical" connection, for there are also ways on how we can connect to our children even if we are not physically by their side.

My latest read talks about connecting to our children in any way, and the benefits it brings. It says:

When you are feeling stressed, a simple phone call from a loved one

can be as good as a hug.  In a new US sudy, a group of girls aged

from seven to 12 years had to make a speech and solve math problems

in front of a panel of strangers, which sent their levels of cortisol - a 

hormone associated with stress- soaring.  Immediately afterwards, a

third were comforted by Mum in person, a third received a phone call 

from Mum, while the remaining girls watched an "emotion-neutral" video.

The children who interacted with their mothers, whether in person or over

the phone, had almost the same hormonal response.  Namely, their levels

 of oxytocin (often called the "love hormone") rose significantly, and

their raised cortisol levels dipped back to normal.

Article source:  Reader's Digest Asia October 2010 issue
Image source:  Google Images

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