Our Family Support Worker Claire Leighton is an accredited Hands on Babies infant massage instructor. Infant massage is an ancient tradition which is hugely beneficial for both parents and children. It has been known to improve the quality and length of sleep, circulation, coordination, digestion, learning ability and much more.

Infant massage is a 5 week course and it is held here at the Centre. On the first day of the course we will provide you with a bottle of unscented massage oil and some take home handouts covering the strokes used during the session.

Bonding and attachment are key elements in infant massage. During the massage strokes your child will receive lots of interaction from you and vice versa. We will also sing songs and rhymes together to keep your child engaged in the massage and to help them to develop their communication skills.

Each week the course will cover different massage strokes, as well as repeating ones from the previous weeks, so when the course if finished you will have all the knowledge necessary to continue the infant massage stokes at home. The babies needs always come first, so if your child becomes unsettled or is asleep, we have some class dolls which can be used to practice the strokes and then you can try again at home when your baby is ready.

Infant massage costs £25 for the 5 week course. If you are interested in registering for this course, please call the centre on 01594 837552, or email familyworker@childoc.org.uk and ask for a booking form.