In some cultures, parents have been massaging their babies for millennia. In modern western cultures, researchers have confirmed many of the developmental benefits of the infant massage tradition – from improved growth and sleep to social emotional development or bonding and more. As massage has become more popular in the age of YouTube, you might wonder if attending a class is necessary.
The easiest way to learn to massage your baby is with the help of a certified instructor of infant massage. Our courses are taught over a number of weeks, normally 4 – 6, to give both the parent and baby time to learn and become comfortable with the massage.
Infant Massage Class Provides Personalized Instruction
The strokes and styles of massage are easier to grasp when demonstrated by our experienced instructors. Baby position, parent posture and hand positioning, pressure, speed and reading babies cues all affect the massage experience and all are part of the class instruction. By taking an in-person class, your instructor can watch your technique, make suggestions, and answer questions. Because every baby is different, massage is not one-size-fits-all. You instructor will suggest variety of approaches depending on the babies in the class.
A Multi-Session Infant Massage Class Format Benefits Both Parent and Baby
Each week parents learn strokes for a new part of the body while reviewing strokes from previous classes. So new strokes are learned and previous information is reinforced. We teach a little at a time to ensure that you are confident with every aspect.
For the baby, the multi-session approach respects their unique response to massage. While beneficial, a skin-to-skin massage is an enormous amount of sensory stimulation. It is unusual for babies new to massage to have the stamina for the full body routine in one sitting. By learning over multiple weeks, we can go at baby’s pace.
Infant Massage Class Builds Community with Other Babies and Parents
Our classes are held in small groups to ensure personalized attention and allow participants to get to know each other. We offer supportive group sessions where parents can share experiences and learn from each other while having fun.
Classes are baby led. In our classes, it’s okay for babies to cry! Recommended age for group classes is from birth to pre-crawling.
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Infant Massage Class is About More than Just Learning the Strokes
Besides teaching the time-tested massage techniques, valuable parenting tips will be shared and topics on child development will be covered. Our instructors are experienced parents and early childhood educators. Class discussions are also designed to enable parents to learn from each other.