Baby Massage: The Introductory Massage

The benefits of baby massage have been extensively researched and we at the Practica Program encourage our Practica Parents to make use of baby massage techniques as often as possible. 

Below is an extract from the Practica Program Parents' Guide that summarizes the easy steps involved in Introductory Massage. It is recommended for newborn babies and parents who are trying out baby massage techniques for the first time. 

The extract is from the section that focuses on developing sensory perception for newborn babies in the Practica Program Parents' Guide. 

As your baby gets older, different techniques and movements are added to the mix. These added techniques are described in detail in the Practica Program Parents' Guide under the various age groups. 

The Introductory Massage: (Activity No 18. The First Few Weeks. Page 10)

• Lie your baby down on his side, facing you, while lying beside him.

• You can either undress him and massage him with oil, or leave his clothes on if the weather doesn’t permit you to do so.

• Use organic oil e.g. coconut, almond or grape seed oil. At this stage, use only base oil. Aromatic oils can be introduced from 2 months onwards. 

• Where possible, try to make eye contact with him and talk or sing to him.  Annexure 1 in Chapter 10 offers a range of songs to choose from. Select a particular song which you can repeat whenever you massage him. This helps him to associate the specific song with touch and massage.

• While he is lying on his side, stroke his arm in a downward motion from his shoulder to his hand.

• Stroke along the side of his body repeatedly, from under his arm all the way down to his foot.  Keep the motions as fluent, calm, rhythmic, slow and firm as you possibly can.

• While still on his side, rub his upper back in continuous, clockwise circles. Repeat the movement on his lower back.  

• Repeat all the above steps while the two of you are lying on the opposite side of your bodies.

• If he is happy to lie on his back, sit stride-legged at his feet with his body between your legs and repeatedly stroke with both hands from his shoulders towards his feet, and

• Finally, roll him onto his tummy on the bed or lie with his body face down on your chest. Stroke repeatedly from the base of his neck towards his bottom.

 Written by Lizette van Huyssteen

"When we know better... we do better." 

How to encourage parents to switch off the television and talk to their children instead.

The following post is aimed at healthcare professionals and teachers.

Through the Practica Program, we meet hundreds of parents from many backgrounds every year. And, similar to you in your profession, we regularly engage with parents who seem to be unaware of the fact that they are headed in the wrong direction regarding the amount of television that they allow their children to watch. The dilemma, then, is how to gently introduce the subject without sounding judgmental or that we’re handing out unsolicited advice.

Break the ice with a relatable question.

An introductory question that grabs the attention of parents from all cultures and walks of life without offending anyone, is: “Have you ever wondered how to teach your child to do things for himself while he is young, so that you won’t need to do his homework for him when he is in school one day?”

Then grab the opportunity.

When the parent responds with interest, jump in and proceed to give advice. Don’t hold back. Bear in mind that a single tidbit of advice about this issue can literally change a child’s life for ever - if only you can motivate the parent to put it into practice!

Keep the conversation short by sharing only 3 tips at a time.

Tip 1: Deliberately train your child’s brain to focus and follow directions. 

We typically say: “There is a special region in every person’s forebrain that organizes his or her brain like an executive organizes employees in his company, or a conductor conducts musicians in an orchestra to perform in harmony. This region houses the ‘executive function of the brain’ and it doesn’t develop without practice. The more it is used, the easier it will become for your child to concentrate and complete tasks step by step.”

Continue in an excited tone of voice, saying to the parent: “You can kick off practising this brain region by focusing on good manners and training him to act in socially acceptable ways. This will help your child to develop self-control and perseverance. Also involve him in everyday activities that unfold step-by-step: do household chores together and read familiar bedtime stories over and over again – to the point where he will be able to predict (and say in his own words) what’s going to happen on the next page.”

Tip 2: Switch off the television to develop language and thinking skills.

Few parents know that researchers have found that the number of words spoken in a household roughly doubles when the television is no longer switched on in the background – even when nobody was watching in the first place! To read more, visit this post.

Children learn language from hearing it, so the number of words spoken directly to a child in a household has a huge impact on his developing speech and language skills. Furthermore, language is not only used to communicate – it’s also necessary for a child to learn to think and reason. It’s definitely worth the investment to rather switch off the television and talk to your child instead. That way he’ll be developing the intellectual skills that will save you from having to do his homework one day!

Tip 3: Play educational games that have a starting point, steps to follow and a desired outcome.

Typically, when a parent and child play an educational game together, the parent explains the goal, the rules and the desired outcome of the game. He or she then motivates the child and guides him to plan and execute the activity step-by-step.

Children initially need lots of guidance, but as time passes, and their brain wiring develops, they become more independent. It’s as if they literally learn to hear their parents’ voices in their mind’s ear. In this way they slowly but surely learn to initiate, execute and complete various slightly challenging tasks without assistance.  

This explains why children, who are priviliged enough to play educational games with their parents in one-on-one situations before entering school, display more self-confidence and act more independently.

Focus on selling a dream.

As professionals, we naturally don’t spend enough time with one parent to be able to constantly “dangle a carrot in front of the donkey’s nose”, as the old saying goes. And sticks don’t motivate. But dreams do. People are best motivated to change their behaviour when they believe that the change will bring them to a place where they will be better off. In short, if you can sell a dream, you can change a life.

More useful links:

To watch the video about Executive Function that Lizette used during her presentation at the Aspen Experts Symposium, click here.

To learn more about the support that the Practica Program offers to parents to enable them to play age-appropriate educational games with their children as part of their everyday lifestyle, click on this link.

If you are a healthcare professional, and you would like to watch Lizette van Huyssteen’s presentation at the Aspen Experts Symposium, click here.