Ten Tips for Massaging Your Baby
So many parents testify to the benefits of baby massage. Commonly thought of as an effective way to settle and calm your baby, baby massage offers additional benefits such as bonding, communication and interaction between parent and child, physiological benefits and encouragement of the child’s emotional development. Massage for infants is very different to massage for adults and it is recommend to seek advice from a qualified instructor in regards to specific stroke techniques. Proven to be more effective with the use of baby massage oil, the caring touch of a parent using massage will always benefit a child.
While there are no hard and fast rules, here we offer ten tips for massaging your baby:
- Before attempting a massage, make sure that it is a good time for you and your baby. It is important that the baby is settled and content enough to lay down and be massaged.
- If you choose to use a baby massage oil, choose an oil that is readily absorbed by the skin. Pure cold pressed organic vegetable, nut, seed or fruit oil do this and provide additional benefits for your baby during the massage and after it is finished, but always check that your child does not react to the oil by testing it on a small area of their skin (inside the crease of their elbow and behind the knee are good places to try). Particularly if there is a history of allergies in your family, avoid peanut oil.
- If your baby is less than five months of age, it is best that they are not massaged around bath time. However, others find that (particularly for children who are older than five months of age), a massage works well after a bath as the child is relaxed and content. Also, the child is already undressed which is a benefit as this presents a convenient time for massage.
- Take your cues from your baby. They will indicate what they do or do not like and if they want more massage or have had enough. If they appear to be enjoying the massage and you are willing to continue, keep going! If your baby is indicating that they are tired of the massage, stop regardless of how many strokes you have completed.
- Do not try to massage a baby who is so upset they are crying. However, if a baby receives massage for wind, constipation or colic, it may be appropriate to continue even if they are crying.
- Babies are used to having their legs touched and so baby massage should always begin with the legs. While adults may believe massages that begin at the centre of the body would be most comfortable, many babies and infants find massages that begin at the chest or abdomen intrusive.
- Babies respond well to long firm strokes. Avoid soft, ticklish strokes as many babies appear to find these annoying.
- When you are massaging the chest of your baby, be watchful for any movement of the arms going in and out from the chest. This is often the baby’s signal to you that they have had enough of the chest area and it is time to work on another part of the body. Other signals that they have had enough include the baby covering your hands with theirs or using other ways to stop you from massaging their chest.
- If you are massaging your baby’s tummy, their tummy should be massaged from left to right. It is also advisable to only massage the lower part of the stomach.
- Many parents find that playing soft music and speaking in soft tones works well when massaging their baby.
Also to be avoided are mineral oils and olive oil. Olive oil is usually too thick to be readily absorbed by the skin and, if used, will need to be washed off afterwards.
Baby massage is a great way to connect with your baby and help them to develop on physical, social and emotional levels. Many babies respond well to massage and find the experience soothing, comforting and useful in building a sense of trust and confidence with their parents.