ROOTS OF VIOLENCE
By Dr. Lon Jones, D.O.

The great increase in violent acts and abuse is becoming a major problem in medical care today. This is usually considered a problem for the courts and criminal justice system, however, it becomes a problem for the medical society as most acts of violence result in harm to a person.

As stated in earlier articles, I am more interested in finding out why things happen in order to work on the cause before coming up with multiple solutions. Hence, the reason I developed a way to help the immune system wash the nose. Now I would like to explore the roots of violence.

Recently, I read some of James Prescott's work from his time as an administrator in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the National Institutes of Health. The work discussed his research of abuse. I was impressed by his ideas. Based on studies in other cultures as well as with animals, he traces the roots of violence back to the way infants are handled. He focuses on three stimuli: trust, affection and intimacy that are essential in developing a deeper love between mother and child.

When an infant is born, he or she is supposed to get a lot of love, affection, and human contact. These actions teach the baby to trust. Studies have shown that monkeys who do not swing with their mothers grow up to be violent. However, when they are put on a fake mother that swings they do not become violent. Touching teaches them affection. Furthermore, body smells teach them intimacy. James Prescott points out that by putting these three learned effects together, a deeper love between the mother and child develops and violence greatly decreases as the child grows older.

Although there are some exceptions in our culture, it seems that more and more babies are born in hospitals where they spend the majority of their first day of life in a bassinet looking at the ceiling. Periodically, they are given a bottle and are put back to sleep until the next feeding. All three of the essential stimuli --trust, affection and intimacy-- are left untouched. In too many cases the situation doesn't seem to change when the infants are taken home. Parents are usually eager to go back to work and after two months, most infants are left with a babysitter, a relative, or placed in day care.

By far the greatest emotional and developmental growth in early infancy and childhood occurs in some of the more primitive tribes of Africa. In these tribes it is believed that babies left alone are at risk. Therefore, mothers carry them around in a sling on their chest. These mothers soon learn their infants body language associated with hunger and the need to defecate, hence soiling is not a problem. These infants are almost saturated with the three sensory stimuli that Prescott sees as essential. Consequentially, violent acts within these cultures are extremely rare.

Based on my own experience with raising children, I know in my heart that Prescott's arguments are valid. The question becomes, What needs to be done about the violent acts occurring in our western culture? Prescott lost his position at the NIH because his conclusions did not fit the 'cultural norms' that are expected in this country. The way doctors deliver infants will probably not change, despite the world wide statistics showing that midwives, who view birthing as a natural process more than a pathological one, do a better job. There will still be unwanted pregnancies and the violence done to these unwanted infants in the uterus feeds the rest of the violence in our society. Children and mothers do not have lobbyists in Washington. They do not have money for a Political Action Committee. If my philosophies about the way infants and children are valued in our society are questioned, just examine the salaries of those caring for children in day care centers and primary schools, compared to those caring for others in prisons. Things are probably not going to change on a cultural level in the near future.

I feel that the best advice for decreasing violence is to begin expressing more love to children NOW. They are our future. Love them by encouraging mothers to nurse their babies. Children and grandchildren need to be held and carried. Touch children. Cuddle them. Rock them. Give them as much of the three stimuli: trust, affection, and intimacy that are necessary to teach them to love. Teach these principles in the schools because these children are the parents of the future. Nourishing roots is one of the best ways to have a healthy family tree.