<i>‘Charging their batteries’.</i> Preschool teachers’ perspectives on children’s touch in early childhood education

This study explores preschool teachers’ perspectives on child-initiated touch in early childhood educational settings in Sweden. Touch is an inevitable and integral part of everyday life in early childhood, where it is important for development, care, and the formation of trusting social relationships. While prior research has predominantly examined adult–child touch, limited attention has been given to teachers’ perspectives on child-initiated touch. This study uses an elicitation interview method aiming to examine preschool teachers’ notions concerning the functions and purposes served by child–educator and children’s peer group touch episodes in preschools in Sweden. The data consist of interviews with 15 educators, analyzed using thematic discourse analysis. The findings show that children’s touch is seen as a flexible tool used to communicate different needs, establish independence, set boundaries, and affirm social relations.