Hiya,
When you are caring for babies and toddlers, your providing them with a subsitute for their primary carers. For the babies and toddlers to thrive without their parents, they need close reassurance. As a practitioner you need to spend time with individual children so that they can develop a special relationship with you. They also need physical contact such as a cuddle etc. This acts as reassurance and helps the child to settle in and feel valued, this also helps their emotional well-being if they are happy and settled.
Physical contact means hugs and sitting on knees as well as holding hands when the child shows signs of wanting it. This can happen early on, as babies, for example, are able to indicate that they want picking up, while slightly older children try and snuggle in or may follow an adult closely.
In the same way that children can signal that they need physical reassurance, they can also show that they do not want it. They may put their hands behind their back or move away. These signal must not be ignored as otherwise the physical contact is inappropriate.
I hope this helps
fluffly bunny