Apart from the usual 1960s childhood experience and stories from the Bible, I remembered when mum spoke to me about her experience breast-feeding me. How I prefer formula to breast milk and how I'd turn away after a moment's suckle. I guess she must have felt how I was feeling when I cuddled a baby.
I don't remember anything up until the time I was watching Thundercats (that's besides the point) but I know that I was close to her during my growing up years - toddler, adolescent. Then it's like a continental drift (was it 3 cm a year?) between us; not sure what happened though. Maybe I know but prefer keeping it under wraps.
Was the lack of eye contact to be blamed for this rickety relationship? If anyone is wondering where do eye contact fit into the picture then allow me to enlighten (if you don't already know) you from what I'd picked up from Developmental Psychology lectures: That the distance (about 9 inches) when the baby is suckling i.e. being breastfed by the mother is the distance at which the infant can best focus. It seems that eye contact is important to build that connection between mother and infant. That was reinforced by findings that mothers of blind infants express difficulty in feeling the closeness with their infant (Paton & Brown, 1991).
Guess mother had something, possibly some strong stuff during her confinement period, which came up during my mealtime. It's a loss isn't it? After years of building to see pieces of it peeling and falling off.
I don't remember anything up until the time I was watching Thundercats (that's besides the point) but I know that I was close to her during my growing up years - toddler, adolescent. Then it's like a continental drift (was it 3 cm a year?) between us; not sure what happened though. Maybe I know but prefer keeping it under wraps.
Was the lack of eye contact to be blamed for this rickety relationship? If anyone is wondering where do eye contact fit into the picture then allow me to enlighten (if you don't already know) you from what I'd picked up from Developmental Psychology lectures: That the distance (about 9 inches) when the baby is suckling i.e. being breastfed by the mother is the distance at which the infant can best focus. It seems that eye contact is important to build that connection between mother and infant. That was reinforced by findings that mothers of blind infants express difficulty in feeling the closeness with their infant (Paton & Brown, 1991).
Guess mother had something, possibly some strong stuff during her confinement period, which came up during my mealtime. It's a loss isn't it? After years of building to see pieces of it peeling and falling off.
Picture credit: Hugo Robus, One and Another, Smithsonian American Art Museum
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