Appropriate physical affection is one of the most important ways to help your children develop into loving and responsible adults. As the article states: 

Telling your children you love them is not as powerful a reassurance as demonstrating your love for them, and depriving your children of genuine physical affection can have devastating consequences. Years ago many motorists had this sticker affixed to their bumpers: Have you hugged your child today? Many of those stickers have disappeared, along with their message.

 We become so wrapped up in our own lives that we don't have time to show our children affection anymore. We come home exhausted and we still have to cook for them, bathe them, clean up after them, and shop for them. We use grueling work hours as excuses for not stopping long enough to just hold them and hug them for a few minutes - "Not now - I'm busy." Do we really need to spend more time showing them affection?

In a word: Yes. We can't afford to ignore our children's need for physical affection.

The article goes on to give concrete examples of why nurturing affectionate demonstrations of love result in loving children while the absence of touch or the abuse of touch may result in abnormal behavior.

Have you hugged your child today?