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The Cricket Story

Father, Papa, Dad or Daddy Hugs often occur when Dad comes home from work and the kids grab him around the waist or knees and almost knock him down. It might be dangerous if he's carrying a metal lunch box with a heavy thermos inside.

While we're on the subject of dads, I must confess my jealousy. My husband always brags about how he got to spend the first hour of his daughter's lives with them in the hospital nursery. It wasn't fair, after all, I had just suffered for months to hug them into the world. He claims to have suffered with me.

Then I found an article in Parents Magazine, (March 1992) titled, The Loving Touch by Janice T. Gibson, Ed.D. who quoted another father bragging about the same thing. Gary Johnson, of Delavan, Wisconsin said: "I got to hold him in my arms for the first twenty minutes of his life. From those first moments together, I never felt strange with him. He was this little helpless creature who needed to be held, cuddled, and protected." I was livid and green and happy and blessed all at the same time that these fathers wanted to be there to hug their babies.

Grandpa Hugs are usually given when Grandpa is sitting in a big overstuffed chair, that's how I remember them. My mom tells about how my Grandpa would read her a story and blow cigar smoke rings in her hair, often just before she was ready to go out on a date. She said her Dad was her favorite person.

I like to call brother hugs by the name buddy hugs. The guys wrap their arms around each other's shoulders, you know, like the team huddle, that's really a circle of buddy hugs.

Sister hugs, otherwise known as single-arm hugs used to be done when two particularly young girls walked, skipped or hopped down the street together, even if they weren't blood sisters. Sadly, we don't see too much of this type of hug anymore.

One of my favorites hugs is the "great Aunt Mary hug." This hug is given to a young child by any older women that the child seldom sees. The child is instructed by mom or dad to go give Aunt Mary a big hug and kiss bye-bye. Mortified the child stands like a tin soldier while Aunt Mary scoops him up and smears a blob of red lipstick on his cheek. Yikes!

Family Portrait hugs are common at weddings and family reunions. Most of us have participated in this type of scrunching together at one time or another.

I just love itty-bitty hand hugs. Of course, these can only be given by a baby. It's so cute when they grab onto your finger with a tight finger hug.

Caution is in order for this next hug called the Burp-the-baby hug. If you're not prepared you may suffer the consequences which we won't elaborate on here since you all have such vivid imaginations.

Now it's opinion time again, but backed up with some professional facts. I think these plastic baby carriers that have all sorts of new features and toys to hold and entertain babies for hours are awful. OK, I used them minimally, but I think the fabric carriers that wrap the baby close to mom or dad close to their heart or on their back is more natural and nurturing. Author Anne P. Stern in a story in McCall's (November 1992), The Feeling We Can't Live Without, quotes Dr. Ronald G. Barr of Montreal Children's Hospital as saying that American mothers hold their babies for only two or three hours a day.

According to a 1990 study at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, babies who were carried close to their moms in a soft carrier like a Snugli rather than a plastic carrier, showed after 13 months that the babies were more securely attached to their mothers and the mothers were more responsive to their babies' cues. (Redbook Magazine, October 1992, What Scientists Know about Snuggles.)

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