Why do children seem 'spoilt' or 'clingy'?

It was a beautiful morning on April 26, 2014. I met an old friend and an ex-collegemate, and an educator at a daycare center who happened to be my ex-classmate's mom! Felt wonderful chatting with them about infant massage and why it is important for babies to be massaged by their parents and why parents, especially in our urban society, should learn massage as a tool to continue the loving bond and positive communication with their babies while creating deep human connection and secure attachment.

We were talking a bit about why children nowadays are labelled as 'spoiled' or 'clingy'. Why do you think this happens?

Children who are not fully, securely attached to their parents tend to be more clingy. This is because they want attention, they need that love from their parents and they just can't help it, so they demand for attention all the time (i.e. Clingy). I share a story about this in Cuddles of Love.

Securely attached children tend to be more independent and happy to go out there and explore the world because their 'love tank' is full. We need more of this in our society. This will not only bring a peace of mind to parents, but also educators in early childhood education establishments, schools and generally, a much better, healthier society. Massage is a great way to create and flourish that loving bond as well as maintain a loving relationship between parents and their children. Start early. Don't wait till the last minute. The best time to start learning is when your baby is a newborn. Our program is open to parents with babies below the age of 1. 

What about 'spoiled' children? How do children get 'spoiled'? Are they spoiled with too much love? Or are they spoiled by all the material things that parents give them such as toys/iPads/tv? A child cannot be spoiled with too much love. But this brings about the question, what is love? How do parents show their love to their children? Think about it. Is love giving your baby/child iPads or toys? Or is love that loving, relationship that you have with your baby, that loving communication and interaction that you have? That deep connection that you have with your baby. That feeling when your baby smiles at you, or when he/she says 'mama' or 'dada'? Ponder within for a moment, and you'll find the answer.

If you need more explanation, I've discussed this in depth in my book, Cuddles of Love.

Meanwhile, here are some photos of parents having a wonderful, loving, quality time with their babies.