That is not what is meant by "the placebo effect" by doctors. There is no active ingredient in a placebo. That's why it has no effect on broken bones or cancer. A placebo doesn't have an effect on anything.
However, patients that receive treatment that include a placebo medication and/or procedure (instead of the active version) often report improvement in their perception of their condition. Including pain, nausea, depression, and anxiety. The patients report feeling better.
This "feeling better" after receiving a fake treatment is the placebo effect.
The reason a kiss and a hug works so well on kids (and adults) is that it is comforting and loving. It makes them feel safe and secure and cared for, lowering their anxiety and indeed pain.
And lowering anxiety and pain can help with recovery. That kiss is not just comforting and loving, it triggers the body to create endorphin, a natural pain killer.
And that is the effect of a placebo. It does have an effect despite not having any active ingredient, but it does have an effect on the perception of the recipient, and that can trigger all sorts of effects, like relaxation, endorphins etc. that help the patient.
Now you can pooh pooh these effects and claim that they are nothing, but they are real. And personally, I'm fairly sure that all positive effects caused by "alternative treatments" are all related to these sort of things.
It sounds like your contradicting yourself. You say placebos don't work and don't have an effect on anything, but in that example the kiss is the placebo. And then you say the kiss lowers their pain, which implies it does work.
That is not what is meant by "the placebo effect" by doctors. There is no active ingredient in a placebo. That's why it has no effect on broken bones or cancer. A placebo doesn't have an effect on anything.
However, patients that receive treatment that include a placebo medication and/or procedure (instead of the active version) often report improvement in their perception of their condition. Including pain, nausea, depression, and anxiety. The patients report feeling better.
This "feeling better" after receiving a fake treatment is the placebo effect.
The reason a kiss and a hug works so well on kids (and adults) is that it is comforting and loving. It makes them feel safe and secure and cared for, lowering their anxiety and indeed pain.