Nest warmth

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In a biological context, nest warmth describes a minimum temperature that must prevail in a nest so that the clutch can develop and mature.

In a figurative sense, "nest warmth" is the feeling of security , trust , affection and being loved , which a child finds in the family or with relatives.

Significance for early childhood development

Warmth in the nest is especially important for babies and children for their physical, mental and emotional development , so that there is no neglect and its consequences. B. Hospitalism , lack of hearing and eye contact, delay in language development, aggressive behavior, psychosomatic illnesses, school failure.

Human nest warmth is generated through emotional and physical affection, for example through a loving speech, through listening and understanding the worries of the child, but also through tenderness and loving, caring actions. This also requires a predominantly positive environment that is not characterized by permanent alarm situations.

In contrast to animals that get along with little or no brood care after birth, humans require devoted care and care over many years.

Disruptive factors

In nursing homes , hospitals and baby wards, people often get too little warmth. Economic considerations and overly tight staff schedules prevent prolonged engagement with the individual child.

Further unfavorable factors for a sufficient nest warmth are profound family and marital problems, wars and periods of starvation.

Rooming-in and bonding

A few decades ago, paediatricians, child psychologists and nurses recognized the problem of a lack of loving care in hospitals and homes. That is why many hospitals introduced rooming-in , i.e. In other words, the mother (or the father) is accommodated in the hospital room together with the newborn baby or the sick child.

Groundbreaking for this development was the knowledge of so-called bonding , the intensive first contact that creates a bond between the newborn baby and his mother, his father. (The older child's bond with their parents is called attachment .)

Immediately after the birth, the mother or both parents are able to have undisturbed contact with the newborn. Since it has been recognized how important the first skin contact is, the baby is placed on her stomach as soon as the mother wishes it. (For self-determined birth see also : Gentle birth and baby-friendly hospital ).

Even the premature baby can lie on the upper body of the mother or father, if necessary with all medical devices, see also: Kangaroo method .

Children who are lovingly cared for in the hospital will recover more quickly.

See also

literature