To develop a healthy oxytocin response, a person needs to have a warm, secure and loving environment as a baby. Now, some people worry that coddling a young child will make him or her shy, clingy or needy.
Well, a child is needy; she needs everything from her parents. She has no way of getting anything she needs without them.
Children who grow up with a lot of love have a less reactive fear response and they're more open to connecting with other people. It's a recipe for healthy adulthood.
A study from the University of Haifa confirms this. Irit Yanir found that young adults who regularly spent time with their parents and felt comfortable sharing feelings with them were actually better able to cope with the responsibilities of adulthood:
While a close relationship is often viewed as a sign of dependence, the research results show that those with close relationships with their parents were more financially self-sufficient, more independent in their day-to-day lives, professionally stable, felt more mature and were more likely to be involved in a stable intimate relationship.
