Community Spotlight

ED Doc’s Children’s Book Conveys the Benefits of Physical Touch

December 13, 2024 by Janet Essman Franz

Tuning in to the season’s themes of thankfulness and family, a children’s picture book titled "The Family Squeeze," written by Christian Pulcini, M.D., M.P.H., M.Ed., assistant professor of emergency medicine and pediatrics, shows how the power of physical touch—to both celebrate good times and endure tough times—brings a family together and builds resilience.

At the Pierson Library in Shelburne, Vermont, children listened to The Family Squeeze read aloud by the author, Christian Pulcini.

If you want to spread good feelings, hug someone you love!

That’s the treatment prescribed in The Family Squeeze, a new children’s picture book written by Christian D. Pulcini, M.D., M.P.H., M.Ed., assistant professor of emergency medicine and pediatrics. Through rhyming verses and colorful illustrations, the book celebrates the power of physical touch between a family who embrace one another when someone falls, or scores the ball; when they roam, and come home; when things are sad, and when things are glad.

Pulcini, an emergency medicine pediatrician, wrote the book with support and feedback from his wife and three young children, with their family squeezes serving as inspiration. In the Emergency Department (ED) at the UVM Medical Center, Pulcini cares for children who suffer violent injuries, trauma-related disorders, and mental health conditions. As a researcher, Pulcini’s investigations focus on children with disabilities, trauma-informed care, and childhood firearm injuries. The book is both autobiographical and educational, for children and those who care for them.

Read more about Pulcini's book and the healing power of physical touch.