Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • NPR

    You don't need words to calm a grumpy kid. Parents around the world use a magic touch

    Modern parents are told to TALK with an agitated kid to improve their mood. But in many cultures, mom and dad opt for a soothing caress to induce tranquility. Neurologists explain why it works.
    by Michaeleen Doucleff Nov 12, 2023 5 minutes
    Jose Grajeda and daughter, Victoria. <strong>"</strong>If I wanted to go to sleep as a child, I would go cuddle with my mom and she would give me <em>piojito</em>," he says — Spanish for "little lice." The late Peruvian linguist Martha Hidlebrandt described <em>piojito</em> as "gently scratching the scalp of a child as if he were being relieved of the itching of imaginary lice" — hence the name.

    When it comes to settling down young children, parenting advice focuses mostly on one tool: What to say.

    If the toddler starts to have a tantrum, say this. If a child can't go to sleep, say that. And if you wind up yelling in the process, well, there's even a script for how to apologize.

    But all around the world, many parents turn to another tool to soothe a crying child and settle them to slumber. And it's totally silent.

    Instead of talking, many parents touch their child. But it's not just any type of touch. Oh no! This touch occurs at a particular speed and with a particular pressure.

    After decades of research, neuroscientists are beginning to understand how our skin senses this specific type of touch and how that sensation lights up regions of the brain to alter our

    You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

    More from NPR

    NPR2 min readWorld
    Hamas Releases Video Of A Second American Being Held Hostage In Gaza
    Hamas has released a video showing two captives, one of them an American, as part of an effort to prove that the two men are still alive. It was the second video of a U.S. citizen released this week.
    NPR4 min readAmerican Government
    Gaza Protestors Picket White House Correspondents Dinner, As Biden Ribs Trump
    The war in Gaza spurred large protests outside a glitzy roast with President Joe Biden, journalists, politicians and celebrities Saturday but went all but unmentioned by participants inside.
    NPR2 min read
    CDC Says 3 Women Diagnosed With HIV After Receiving 'Vampire Facial'
    Although HIV transmission from contaminated blood through unsterile injection is a well-known risk, the CDC said this is the first documentation of probable infections involving cosmetic services.

    Related Books & Audiobooks