Fathers bonding with their baby through infant massage

ATTENTION all dads!

Did you know... research (1) has shown that fathers who gave their babies 15 minutes of daily massage for one month were more expressive, showed more enjoyment and interaction during floor play? A father's touch is just as important for a newborn, and not only to help with the bonding process. Massaging your newborn is also equally relaxing for dad as it helps reduce stress hormone levels through the calming power of touch. Infants receiving massage, on the other hand, displayed an increase in eye contact, smiling, vocalising and reaching responses.

Encouraging fathers to be involved during labour is giving them a purpose and a place, says Susan O'Brien, MD of Boston Medical Centre (2). Once baby is born, fathers massaging their baby is a lovely way to nurture a growing relationship. It also offers mum a break, gives dads something to do with their child and to spend quality one to one time together.

As Tim Barrus said, "It takes a tough man to make a tender father". Tim is a father and child counsellor in Florida, U.S.A. Tim's article, "Nurturing" (3) offers 6 valuable points for all expectant and new fathers:

1. Never underestimate the power of an infant.

2. Learn to nurture

3. Do lots of touching

4. You are not going to be a big player in the mind of your infant.

5. Nurturing is work!

6. Nurturing doesn't end with infancy.

Idibidi Kids welcomes and encourages fathers to be involved as much as possible with the birth of their baby and to learn infant massage, with or without your wife/partner. There are many benefits of learning to massage your baby, please view http://www.idibidikids.com.au/infantmassage.htm

References:

(1) Cullen, C., Field, T., Escalona, A. & Hartshorn, K. (2000). Father-infant interactions are enhanced by massage therapy. Early Child Development and Care, 164, 41-47.

(2) Touch Connection, 2006. http://hkjpaed.org/johnson/touchconnection/index.htm

(3) "Nurturing" by Tim Barrus

How lullabies can help your child sleep

The following article was written by Patrice Cosier, an experienced education specialist in music and movement therapy. Patrice holds a Masters Degree in Music and has composed a wonderful CD, blending lullaby styles with relaxation techniques, proven to help your child sleep. Thank you Patrice for your inspiring article!

Research suggests that humans are programmed to respond to music. Proof of this, says Dr. Mark Tramo, director of the Institute For Music and Brain Science, is that there is no known human culture without music."We have an innate predisposition to be able to apprehend an emotion and meaning in music," said Tramo. "When you listen to a baby babble,... they're experimenting with their voice and learning how to make vocal sounds by using the vocal apparatus as an instrument -- the first musical instrument was voice..."This might be a good explanation why mothers all over the world instinctively help their babies get to sleep by humming and singing. What could be more soothing to a baby than hearing a soft song, sung by a mother's loving voice?The science and healing aspects of music have been proven. Slow tempos, triple meters and simple harmonies have been effective in relaxing and calming babies. But the indisputable proof of music's effectiveness is when babies fall peacefully asleep to either soft music or a lullaby sung by it's mother or someone familiar to the baby.When I was a young mother, I discovered a winning formula to help baby sleep and I have used it with my grandchildren: Get comfortable, preferably in a rocking chair, and hold your baby while softly humming or playing beautiful instrumental music, (music with vocals proved to be distracting to the baby who seemed to prefer it's mother's voice or instrumental music). Take slow, deep breaths to calm yourself. Your baby will intuit your calmness and relax even more.This has always worked for me, and not only did the baby get a good night's sleep, so did I!
Patrice Cosier, MA

Patrice's website is www.goodnightlullabies.com