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Touch Communication-Part I
By Elaine Fogel Schneider, Ph.D.

The dynamic of parent-infant interaction is the most important foundation upon
which a child learns about the self, and about trust and respect. It is this first
relationship that influences the way relationships are perceived. Infant massage
is a natural way that parents can learn about parenting, and that infants can
learn about being loved and honored.

Infant Massage is a vital, dynamic interaction that forms the foundation of
relationship building that will last a lifetime. Nurturing touch between a
parent/caregiver and an infant enriches physiological, social-emotional, and
mind/body/spirit connections for the infant being massaged, as well as for the
parent. Being touched and caressed, being massaged, is food for the infant,
food as necessary as minerals, vitamins and proteins.

Touch is vital for the development of attachment behavior and for early social
development of the young child, in that both the infant and parent have the
capacity to elicit and respond to behaviors in mutually pleasurable ways. The
original infant-parent tie is very important for infants-and society-because it is
from this original attachment and bonding that all subsequent attachments will
follow. Two conditions that enhance development of bonding are the ability of
the parent to be sensitive in understanding and responding to his or her infant's
cues, and the amount and nature of the interactions between infant and parent.
It is through infant massage that bonding may be deepened.

Social interaction is significant for the parents' well being, essential for the
child's development during the first three years of life, and paramount
thereafter. Babies are social creatures who learn from their interactions with
others. Expanding children's repertoire of interactive behaviors can assist them
to influence their world, and deepen their quality of life and the lives of their
parents.

The Role of Massage with Infants Massage is generally a technique that
combines tactile, kinesthetic stimulation performed in a purposeful, sequential
application. The massage technique for infants is much different from massage
for adults. It is not as much manipulative as it is communicative. It is a
technique that allows parents to engage and relax their child in mutually
pleasurable interaction.

In the field of infant massage, the parent is viewed as the primary source of
interaction in the context of the infant's life. The dynamics of infant massage
facilitate parenting skills, infant-parent interaction, bonding and attachment,
and parents' ability to read their babies' cues.

Positive cues may include eye contact, smiling, looking at the parent's face,
making babbling or cooing sounds, and smooth movements of the arms and/or
legs. Negative cues may include pulling away, frowning or grimacing, turning
the head away, arching the back, crying, squirming, and flailing movements of
the arms and/or legs. The focus of infant massage is not solely on the baby,
but on the reciprocal interaction between infant and parent. Infant massage is
not done to an infant; it is done with an infant. "Touching is the first
communication a baby receives," says Frederick Leboyer, author of Loving
Hands. "The first language of its development is through the skin."

Infants communicate through their bodies. When you engage an infant in a
massage, you begin to listen to the infant; you listen to sounds, you watch
movements, you listen with your eyes, your ears and your heart. Infant
massage, or touch communication, nurtures the most important relationship
the child will ever have: the relationship between the parent and infant.

By using infant massage a parent grasps the art of listening, asking
permission, communicating, interpreting and responding to cues. The infant
displays engagement/disengagement cues, furthers body awareness,
self-esteem, listening and communication. Both infant and parent benefit from
eye contact, relaxation, bonding, synchrony, love and trust.

After learning infant massage a parent exclaimed, "I used to be frustrated not
knowing what cues my baby was giving me. After learning infant massage I am
a better reader of my child's cues, and know when she is fussy because she
has gas, or she is fussy because she wants to be held. I feel more confident
as a mother. My husband has even learned about massage and uses it
regularly as a way to become closer to our child, especially after he returns
from working out of town for weeks at a time."

For the mother of a child with cerebral palsy, infant massage has made a world
of difference in her ability to open up a line of communication with her child.
"My baby used to just be a baby," she said. "Now he is a baby, and he has a
personality. Infant massage gave him a way to express himself-giggling, or
interacting in a dialogue when he had never been able to speak before."

Elaine Fogel Schneider, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, ADTR, CIMI, holds a doctorate in
psychology, and masters' in the fields of speech/language pathology and
dance/movement therapy. Schneider is a certified infant massage instructor,
and the founder and executive director of First Nurturing Touch Communication,
a nonprofit educational corporation that assists families in developing safe and
nurturing relationships, and Baby Steps, a family-focused early intervention
program that introduces families to the world of touch and the importance of
bonding and attachment, as they learn to see their child first and their child's
disability second.

This document is from Community Therapies Web site -
www.communitytherapies.com. Reprint in whole or in
part, without written permission from Community Therapies,
is prohibited. Email: drelainefschneider@hotmail.com