Touch By Tiffany Field
An essay on the importance of touch to children's growth and development and to the physical and mental well-being of people of all ages.
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Review
An interesting, well-written book with an extensive bibliography.
Library Journal
Award
Winner in the 2002 AAUP Book, Jacket, and Journal competition for excellence in design in the category of Jackets.
Endorsement
In the hands of Tiffany Field, touch, 'the mother of the senses,' finds its muse. An engagingly written book coursing from the physiology lab to 'new age' therapy, Touch never fails to stimulate.
Lewis LeavittProfessor of Pediatrics and Medical Director, Waisman Center on Human Development and Mental Retardation, University of Wisconsin-Madison
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Summary
An essay on the importance of touch to children's growth and development and to the physical and mental well-being of people of all ages.
The first sensory input in life comes from the sense of touch while a baby is still in the womb, and touch continues to be the primary means of learning about the world throughout infancy, well into childhood. Touch is critical for children's growth, development, and health, as well as for adults' physical and mental well-being. Yet American society, claims Tiffany Field, is dangerously touch-deprived.
Field, a leading authority on touch and touch therapy, begins this accessible book with an overview of the sociology and anthropology of touching and the basic psychophysical properties of touch. She then reports recent research results on the value of touch therapies, such as massage therapy, for various conditions, including asthma, cancer, autism, and eating disorders. She emphasizes the need for a change in societal attitudes toward touching, particularly among those who work with children.
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Touch
by Tiffany Field
4.25 · Rating details · 20 ratings · 3 reviews
Why we need a daily dose of touch: an investigation of the effects of touch on our physical and mental well-being. Although the therapeutic benefits of touch have become increasingly clear, American society, claims Tiffany Field, is dangerously touch-deprived. Many schools have "no touch" policies; the isolating effects of Internet-driven work and life can leave us hungry for tactile experience. In this book Field explains why we may need a daily dose of touch.
The first sensory input in life comes from the sense of touch while a baby is still in the womb, and touch continues to be the primary means of learning about the world throughout infancy and well into childhood. Touch is critical, too, for adults' physical and mental health. Field describes studies showing that touch therapy can benefit everyone, from premature infants to children with asthma to patients with conditions that range from cancer to eating disorders.
This second edition of Touch, revised and updated with the latest research, reports on new studies that show the role of touch in early development, in communication (including the reading of others' emotions), in personal relationships, and even in sports. It describes the physiological and biological effects of touch, including areas of the brain affected by touch, and the effects of massage therapy on prematurity, attentiveness, depression, pain, and immune functions. Touch has been shown to have positive effects on growth, brain waves, breathing, and heart rate, and to decrease stress and anxiety. As Field makes clear, we enforce our society's touch taboo at our peril. (less)
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Paperback, 250 pages
Published October 10th 2014 by Bradford Book (first published January 1st 2014)
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Ralph N
Aug 03, 2019Ralph N rated it it was amazing
Tiffany Field shows us the importance of touch throughout our lives -- how it can affect physical and cognitive development in children, and how it can make or break our health. Must-read on a relatively taboo subject in American society.
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Ryan Mizzen
May 26, 2019Ryan Mizzen rated it it was amazing
A phenomenal must-read book for everyone about the importance of touch!
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Top reviews from the United States
happy in wisconsin
5.0 out of 5 stars A must for massage students
Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2011
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Having been a certified massage for over 10 years, I know the power of touch. Tiffany Field has been involved in research for several years, and she knows her work. This book is well documented, and discusses many studies on the power and healing capabilities of touch on everyone from premature babies to nursing home residents, and all of us in between. It should be required reading for every massage student, maybe every student in the health field.
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sarah
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book - good condition
Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2020
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Great read and came in good condition.
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Ruth I Olafsdottir
5.0 out of 5 stars A must read For all humans and those who want ...
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2016
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A must read
For all humans and those who want to be.
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Angie
5.0 out of 5 stars Useful
Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2013
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Great information for parents and anyone in the MT field. This book will enlighten you to the "need" all humans have for touch.
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Zen
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful information within and sage ways to connect and encourage ...
Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2014
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This book was a welcomed addition to my library...Wonderful information within and sage ways to connect and encourage health in our infants and children. I highly recommend it. Linneah @ www.ld.massagetherapy.com
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FM FS
1.0 out of 5 stars I needed customer service to intervene. Someone should've noticed.
Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2017
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I was charged twice. Once for the ebook and again for the hardback book.
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Penny E. Goldman
3.0 out of 5 stars great book.
Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2015
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great book.
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Bruce Jones
2.0 out of 5 stars Old news mostly.
Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2014
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Disappointing.
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Liz Tipping
5.0 out of 5 stars A must for anyone intrerested in babies and infant massage
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 2, 2003
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Tiffany Field is one of the most prolific researchers into infant massage, working from the Touch Research Institute in Miami. This book brings together much of Dr. Field's research and gives a comprehence look at the importance of touch in our society today.For anyone writing articles on massage or introducing massage onto neonatal units it is a must, there is so much useful information.
This book starts by showing the importance of touch, how as children (and adults) we hunger for touch, especially in schools and institutions where it has become difficult for teachers to even give a hug to a distressed child in their care for fear of it being mis-interpreted.
The book continues to show how we use touch for communication and how touch can improve development, and subsequently how touch deprivation can affect the growing child both physically and mentally.
There is a comprehensive list and description of many touch therapies including a chapter on infant massage.
The book concludes with brief summaries of many of the studies on massage therapy with both children and adults.
I found the book very comprehensive and very easy and enjoyable to read.
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19 people found this helpful
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Ms J Burke
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 25, 2018
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Fab item. Prompt delivery. Many thanks
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hairhead79
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 17, 2012
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I bought this book as it was a requirement for a course i was doing. I have to say i thoroughly enjoyed the book. It is not as i expected. It was extremely easy to read & very insightful for the course i was doing but for me personally
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catherine smith
5.0 out of 5 stars New parents must read
Reviewed in Australia on June 22, 2018
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Really special information for all parents, has really changed my life
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Janice Pridding
1.0 out of 5 stars ... my son so I don't know what it was like.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 25, 2014
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Sorry it was a present for my son so I don't know what it was like.
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