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Parenting

05th Aug 2020

The urge to eat our babies means we really love them and science backs us up

Melissa Carton

baby names

If you’ve ever wanted to nom on your baby’s chubby cheeks, you’re not alone.

It seems the urge is natural for all of us and is an indication that we really care about our baby.

Not only that but evolution has actually hardwired us to do it.

Yes, wanting to nibble on some chubby cheeks is nature’s way of balancing our emotions.

According to researchers Oriana Aragon and Rebecca Dyer;

“Cute aggression, or “dimorphous expression,” is when an abundance of positive emotions elicits expressions normally associated with negative emotions. “

In short our impulse to eat our babies is a build up of positive emotions exploding out of us.

In fact an overload of happy emotions can cause us as much stress as sad emotions and releasing them not only shows that we are affectionate but is also good for our health. Some scientists are actually looking into the possibility of using this natural reaction as the starting point for treating those with Bi-polar disorder.

This urge has been described as much the same as when we cry when we are happy. Crying is usually associated with sadness in much the way that something like the urge to bite is usually associated with anger.

So the next time you want to nibble on your baby or pinch their cheeks you can be safe in the knowledge that it simple means you’re crazy about them.

Any excuse to kiss those cute faces sounds good to me.