Implications of Strong and Close Body Contacts among Young Children

In kindergarten and nursery schools, strong and close body contacts, such as tapping, pushing, and hugging, are often made by young children when they interact with each other. In this study, we aimed to observe free-play scenes among 3-5-year-old children and to examine the implications of strong body contacts made by young children. The results showed that strong and close body contacts have the following implications: i. The child cannot express themselves in words, ii. It emphasizes the words uttered, iii. The child unilaterally vents their thoughts, iv. It supplements thoughts that cannot be expressed verbally, v. Anticipation of a reaction, vi. The child enjoys the action itself, vii. Combine the nori in synchrony with the other child, viii. Development of a shared worldview. Although acts of strong and close body contact may easily be interpreted as violence at the fi rst glance, for young children, strong and close body contacts are a substitute for verbal communication, to express oneself and negotiate with others, suggesting that the body plays an important role as a substitute