Why you want to eat your baby’s toes explained
There’s a scientific reason you feel the urge to eat your baby’s toes…and this is what it is…
What parent hasn’t grabbed their baby’s cute little feet and had the urge to nibble their sweet little toes? We’re all guilty of it, but what is it that makes us want to eat our babies? Well actually there’s science behind why we get this urge.
It’s that innocent baby smell that triggers the response which has been likened to how hungry people feel when presented with a delicious meal.
Researchers at the University of Montreal, conducted research that revealed that when women smelt a two day-old baby, their brains light up in the same way they would if they had indulged in other addictive substances - even drugs or alcohol. It’s known as cute aggression, "dimorphous expressions".
That natural smell of a baby lights up the same parts of the brain as other addictive things such as drugs, alcohol and tasty food, meaning your compulsions are totally natural.
Basically the study revealed that we're wired to want to nurture them and that can come out in you wanting to gnaw on your little one’s foot because it is just the cutest thing ever. The urge to bite is your brain's weird way of handling the cuteness.
Babies naturally encourage people to fall in love with them, a little trick Mother Nature has given them. Whether it’s their beautiful big eyes or their precious little button noses and chubby limbs it gets us adults right in the heart.
It’s not that you want to eat them like a meal, it’s more about wanting to be as close as possible to your baby.
So next time you get that overwhelming urge to squeeze your baby or nibble at those cute chubby toes, go right ahead, it’s nature’s way of you expressing your all-consuming unconditional love for your little one.