Tag: nurturing touch

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Oils & Asking Permission

Excerpts from the IAIM website

Choosing a Massage Oil Involves
Many Considerations Including:

  • Cultural preference
  • Family tradition
  • Availability
  • Cost

Your class instructor will be familiar with oils available in your area and can help you as a parent select an oil that you and your baby will be happy with.

Cold Pressed Oil and Unscented Vegetable Oils

Generally we recommend cold pressed, unscented fruit and vegetable oils such as safflower, sunflower or fractionated coconut oil because:

  • They are non-toxic and safe if ingested
  • They can contain beneficial nutrients, such as vitamin E, which are good for the skin
  • They contain nutrients that help prevent rancidity
  • These oils are less slippery when applied, so it’s safer to handle your baby after application
  • They have no added scent, so infants can still enjoy their parents’ natural smell, and are not overwhelmed

Use an oil to massage your baby that you would eat on a salad – one that is fresh, natural, pure and unscented. Perhaps you already have an appropriate oil in your kitchen. Put it in a small squeeze bottle, if possible, to prevent spills.

Asking Permission: A Vital Step for Parents

Put just a bit of oil on the palm of your hand, and rub them together to make a swishing sound. Show your hands to your baby, and verbally ask permission from your baby to give him/her a massage Watch your baby to see how she or he responds. Is she saying “yes” or “no”?

Receiving permission from your baby is important before beginning massage. Some people have difficulty imagining how a baby could possibly tell them s/he is ready and willing to be massaged. Of course, answering this question requires an appreciation for the interpersonal capacities of newborn human infants, the meaning of their gaze, their facial expressions, their posture, and other non-verbal or pre-verbal expressions of comfort or distress.

Baby massage instruction helps you recognize your baby’s range of emotional and behavioral expressions. Learning when and how to seek permission before massaging a baby is an important skill  not only for infant massage, but also achieving mastery of the care-giving skills needed to provide what a baby needs most: love and a secure infant-caregiver attachment.

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Massage and Your Growing Child

Excerpts from the IAIM website

The Just Be Baby massage classes accredited by the International Association of Infant Massage are designed for families with babies under one-year-old. Jessica McClain LMT CEIM will share with you some ways to adjust the massage for your growing baby in a way that will keep them interested and involved in their massage.

Massage doesn’t stop when a baby gets big enough to roll or walk away. Sometimes it seems like a relaxing massage is even more necessary when a child’s life gets more active.

“As my children grew up, I looked for those quiet moments when they really appreciated a massage. Sometimes it was when we all snuggled up in bed. Sometimes it was when I was visiting with a friend and a child found my lap was free and crawled in for a rubdown. Or after a bath. Or when they were sick. My youngest, who is now 19, still likes me to give her a massage. And sometimes she gives me one, too.”

– United States mother utilizing infant massage

What can you do as a child gets older to continue nurturing touch?

The Active Baby

When a child learns to roll over, you may find that they become more challenging to massage. Their personal goal has suddenly become to be mobile, and that is what they care about most. Keep a few special toys just for massage, and pull them out to encourage your baby to be still a bit longer. Sing your baby a song as you massage, or attach a few simple nursery rhymes to parts of the body. Your baby will love repetition, and the sing-song quality of your voice.

When a child begins to crawl, you may need to simply massage what is easy to reach. Make the massage more fun by pulling your baby gently and playfully back to you, and using music and nursery rhymes. Look for your toddler’s most quiet and receptive time of day for the massage, such as after a bath, right before bed, or after a long day at childcare. Give them choices such as “Where shall I start the massage?”

Preschoolers

Preschoolers often need imaginative stories or songs to keep them receptive to massage. You may need to do shorter strokes on the legs and arms, or position the child differently to do the massage. They may like it if the massage is connected with certain sports (“soccer player special”) or activities (“ballet dancer massage”) that encourage their imagination. Be aware and supportive of your child’s developing modesty, leaving underwear or clothes on when requested.

School Age Children

School-age children experience a lot of stress, and massage can help them think more clearly in class, relax during tests, etc. Often the older child will begin to talk during massage and tell you about their day and their fears and worries. Be a good listener as you give them a massage. You can use scented oils for children this age. And they may want to massage you too!

Teens

Teenagers vary from liking touch to wanting to be left alone, and this may change from moment to moment. Look for times when they are open to touch – sick, tired, emotional or affectionate, and offer to rub their shoulders or their feet. Perhaps they complain of growing pains or cramps, and are really asking for a little affection – beautifully expressed in a massage. If they refuse a massage, don’t take it personally, or consider it permanent. Tomorrow they may feel different.

The nurturing touch that you learn in your infant massage class can make a difference to your children throughout their life.