Wondering how to calm your squirming toddler to sleep? Well, according to a new book singing lullaby along with a soothing massage can do the trick. Texas Tech University child development researcher Sybil Hart have suggested 12 massage techniques that target specific parts of the body, including the feet, hands and shoulders.
The movements mimic activities such as painting or answering a telephone call and the corresponding lyrics act as instructions for parents while keeping children engaged in the process long enough to receive the massage.
Research has shown that massages can help ease pain and anxiety in children and improve their cognitive performance - the trick is coaxing a bundle of restless feet and fleeting attention into sitting still long enough to receive one.
"How do you sit an active, rambunctious 2-year-old down and give them a massage?" asked Hart, a professor of human development and family studies. "Children are the people on earth who need massages most and they often get them the least," she added.
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