Do you like to tickle your baby and see him laugh out loud? Yet far from being trivial, this gesture can even be uncomfortable for toddlers. Explanations with Dr Catherine Salinier, outpatient pediatrician.
While games and laughter are great ways to foster the parent-child bond, baby tickles are not necessarily fun for toddlers. This gesture that we think is innocent would actually be a source of “pain”. But can we say that tickling a baby is risky? What are the recommendations? Explanations and advice from Dr Catherine Salinier, ambulatory pediatrician, head of the “Child psychiatry” and “Adolescent” groups of the French Association of Ambulatory Pediatrics.
Is tickling a baby dangerous?
According to a study by a group of researchers from the University of London’s Goldsmith Institute, published in the journal Current Biology, babies don’t feel tickled the same way adults do and that would be unpleasant for them. The younger they are, the more they simply perceive touch.
To reach this conclusion, the researchers analyzed the reaction of 30 babies (17 4-month-old babies and 13 7-month-old babies) following mechanical vibrations received on the soles of their feet. “Tickling represents a source of neurosensory excitation which is not desirable for the baby. It’s not necessarily dangerous, but it’s annoying. and sometimes it borders on pain. Let’s not forget that in the past, tickling was an instrument of torture. It is therefore preferable to avoid this gesture in babies“, says Dr. Catherine Salinier.
“Tickling represents a source of neurosensory excitation which is not desirable for the baby. It is not necessarily dangerous but it is unpleasant”.
Tickling baby: what recommendations?
“It is possible to tickle your baby at any age. As long as he is laughing, it means that he is having fun, but if his laugh turns into an unpleasant laugh, you should stop immediately and leave him alone. It is important to be receptive to the signals sent by the baby”advises our interlocutor.
“It is possible to tickle your baby at any age. As long as he is laughing, it means that it amuses him, but if his laughter turns into unpleasant laughter, you must stop immediately and leave him alone”.
Can you tickle baby on the tummy?
The belly being a very sensitive area in the baby, it is not recommended to tickle him for a long time on this area. “The contraction of the muscles in response to the tickle can lead to regurgitation, which can make tickling particularly unpleasant“, warns the pediatrician.
Can we tickle baby under the feet?
It is quite possible to perform light tickling on a baby’s feetas long as it doesn’t excite her unduly and hurt her.
At what age does a baby feel tickles?
The baby feels the tickles from birtheven if before four months old, it does not make the connection between the tactile stimuli and the person doing it. This is in any case what has been demonstrated by the study of the group of researchers from the Goldsmith Institute of the University of London, published in the journal Current Biology.
Thanks to Dr Catherine Salinier, ambulatory pediatrician, head of the “Child psychiatry” and “Adolescent” groups of the AFPA, expert on the Mpedia parenting site