The right touch: the art of a child's massage

This is one of the simple pleasures of life( adults have long enjoyed a massage), and studies show that children grow better and behave better when they receive the right touch. Children's massage is a skin-to-skin contact that helps parents and children learn to read each other's body language better - without saying a single word.

Why massage?

In addition to the fact that it's simply a pleasure to touch your child, a baby massage helps kids grow and develop better. In other cultures, touch is highly valued as a growth stimulant for children. In some eastern societies, the mother is punished if she does not do her daily massage. One of the most amazing areas of research is the relationship between touch and growth. The children they touch are growing like leaps and bounds, and that's why.

Elegant swaddling art

A tight swaddling gives the child the feeling that he is still in the womb. Although some children can agree to a simple swaddling "burrito"( when the child wraps, like stuffing in a pancake), most do not like when the handles are closely pressed to the sides. Instead, wrap each pen in the diaper and fold the pens at the baby's chest, which is a more natural position. Try step-by-step swaddling your child in this way:

1. Fold one corner of the diaper 2. Holding the diaper, 3. Securely tuck the corner of the

and put the child on this put the child's pen on the child's back,

fold. Fold the edge of the diaper onto the chest, over the child's handle.

4. Fold the diaper bottom up, over the child's torso.

5. Fold the other end of the diaper over the child's handle;Hold the diaper until you put this pen on your baby's chest.

6. Tuck the angle of the diaper under the back of the child as far as the diaper allows.

Touch stimulates the production of substances that cause growth.

Physicians have long known that children who are often touched grow better, and now this observation has received scientific confirmation. Apparently, there is a biological relationship between stroking, massage, caring for children and their growth. Touch stimulates the production of growth hormones and increases the level of enzymes that make the cells of vital organs more sensitive to the growth-causing effects of these hormones. For example, premature babies in the "ward of growth", where they gain the required weight, showed a 47 percent increase in weight gain when they received additional touches.

Researchers who conducted tests on animals, established the relationship between the mother's licking of her offspring and the rate of growth of her toddlers. When newborn puppies were deprived of frequent licking by the mother( equivalent to a baby's massage), the growth hormone level fell, and the growth of the puppies stopped. Even injections of growth hormone to puppies that did not get touched did not cause their growth. Only when the mother's touch and licking resumed, the puppies began to grow again.

Researchers found that human calves also, when they were deprived of touch, dropped the level of growth hormone and developed a disease called psychosocial dwarfism;which is even more surprising, they did not grow even when they were injected with growth hormone. Only after receiving a human touch, these children began to grow. This discovery means that, thanks to a touch on the cellular level, something positive happens that causes the cells to react to growth hormone. Yes, there is some kind of magic in parental affection.

Touch causes brain growth. Touch is useful not only for the body - it is useful for the brain. Studies show that newborns receiving additional touches demonstrate higher neurological development. Why such a clear relationship? Researchers believe that the touch stimulates the growth of myelin, the insulating material surrounding the nerves, so that the nerve impulses pass faster.

Touch improves digestion. Children receiving more touches demonstrate increased production of digestive hormones. Researchers believe that this is another reason why children who receive touches grow better. Apparently, the touch makes the child's digestive system work more efficiently. Children suffering from colic caused by irritable bowel syndrome may have less pain in the abdomen, if they often massage them.

Touch improves behavior. Studies show that children receiving additional touches become more organized. They sleep better at night, are less capricious during the day and are better involved in interacting with people caring for them. Touch soothes the little ones. Touching can be a wonderful tool that helps a child to sleep at night.

Touching increases the child's self-esteem. When a child receives the tenderness of loving hands, it helps him to feel the parts of his body, as the child learns which parts of the body are most sensitive and which require relaxation. When a person touches, he feels important, just like an adult feels "touched" by the words of a friend.

Touch helps parents. Daily massage helps you to become closer with your whole child, to learn to understand the language of his body and to recognize his signals. Give your child the right touch - just one more step up the stairs to get to know your child. Massage is especially valuable for a parent and a child who had a sluggish beginning, for example, when they were separated due to complications. Massage helps the parent and child to become close to each other again. For a mother who has had a bad beginning, which does not feel natural to her newborn maternal feelings, the massage serves as another spark to ignite the flame. Similarly, for a child who is heavy lifting: massage helps to break the barrier, so that an unhappy child becomes enjoyable when he is taken or stroked - and that parents are used to touching their child.

Several working mothers, whose children I observe, use evening massage as a tool that helps them to restore contact with the child after a day's absence. This special touch allows them to tune in to the child and disconnect from work when they cross the threshold of the house.

For fathers who first encountered care of a newborn child, massage is a practical course in communicating with the child. In addition, it is important for the child to get used to the father's touch in addition to the mother's touch. Children only benefit from a variety of caresses.

Special touches for special children. Children with disabilities - and their parents - receive special benefits from the

massage. Studies show that massage helps children with impaired motor or motor function to better communicate their needs to parents - this process is called the delivery of communicative signals. Massage allows you to learn to better perceive the signals of your child's body.