Mother´s touch: importance of maternal touch for child development

Abstract

Science focused on the study of early childhood has gradually been considered a priority, given the excellent economic cost-benefit of early interventions (compared to interventions in adulthood), with positive impacts for the entire life cycle. In parallel with scientific advances on the factors that promote healthy development in early childhood, it is also crucial to implement strategies to disseminate this knowledge to the broader society. Therefore, collaboration between scientists and professionals in journalism/related areas is essential to provide rigorous, reliable and current scientific information, conveyed in an understandable, relevant and interesting way for the general public. This proposal falls within the scope of the Young Researcher FAPESP Phase 2 project, titled: The importance of social touch for infant social-emotional development: integrating neuroimaging, psychophysiological, endocrine, and behavioral evidence. Our proposal outlines three products for disseminating content produced within the scope of the project beyond the walls of academia, expanding society's knowledge about the importance of early social relationships for child development. If funded, our proposal may lead to potential gains not only for the researchers involved, but also for society, signaling needs and inducing socio-political changes, more specifically promoting the acknowledgement of early childhood as a critical period of human development, repositioning it in government priority agendas.