feldenkrais hobart
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First Touch Program
A five week infant massage course, promoting nurturing parenting. . .
starting on Wednesday October 31st, 2018
​​For many years Wendy has been using another form of gentle touch for learning, in her Feldenkrais work with babies, children and adults. Wendy believes:
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~ in the right of all babies to develop into happy and capable young people, whatever their situation.
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~ in the life-long benefits that come from having early relationships that are loving, healthy and secure.
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~ that gentle touch helps form the early foundations of loving, secure relationships between parent and baby
about THE
FIRST TOUCH
PROGRAM
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Each week I will guide you through a new sequence of massage strokes.
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We learn to recognise the cues babies give us: eye contact, fussiness, smiling and crying - and understand that these are all forms of communication.
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Parents gain confidence using voice, eye contact, movement and gentle touch ~and a "serve and return" way of responding~ to help soothe, settle and comfort their baby.
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We help each other, sharing our stories and concerns.
Common sense (and now, extensive research) tells us that the foundation for a child's happiness is the quality of the interactions between a baby and her/his parent or carer.
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From the first moments of a baby’s life, it is the gentle, caring touch of parents that tenderly conveys the love of parent for baby.
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The 5 session First Touch Program is not just about infant massage. It is a program that helps parents and carers recognise how their babies interact and communicate, even without words. The program is designed to help parents and carers develop skills to lovingly connect with and respond to their baby, even in the difficult times.
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First Touch Infant Massage classes help parents and carers build a supportive network with other families who want to find ways in their busy lives to slow down and meaningfully engage with their baby.
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Our groups are small, with only 5 parent/baby duets, so the work and be very indivualised.
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Most of all, the First Touch Infant Massage is fun and relaxing. The program can help relieve some common discomforts for the baby, while building parent’s confidence in their ability to lovingly support their baby.
Our next 5 week program begins next week!
First Touch Program
119 Lansdowne Crescent
West Hobart
a 5 week series beginning
Wednesday 31st October at 9.30am.​
Cost: $130 for 5 sessions
Allow 1 and a half to 2 hours for each session
Morning tea and Massage oils will be provided.
NOW if you haven't already, be sure you . . . . .
HOW THE
FIRST TOUCH
PROGRAM
is DIFFERENT to OTHER
BABY MASSAGE PROGRAMS
As Parent Educators, we receive High-Quality, Nationally Accredited Training by the registered Charity BABY IN MIND.
BABY IN MIND is a national not-for-profit charity and an official partner to the World Health Organisation Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Program. Each year in Australia their educators provide the First Touch Program to around 30-35,000 parents and young babies from all walks of life. They also have an active overseas program with training and services being delivered in refugee camps, disaster and war zones, and some of the world’s most vulnerable orphanages.
In Australia, BABY IN MIND Parent Educators are the only infant massage educators who have completed a nationally (government) accredited curriculum which meets the national competency standards for Delivering Infant Massage Education to Families.
BABY IN MIND Educators are specially trained in a cue-based approach to teaching infant massage and supporting parent-infant interaction. In this approach, parents are supported to explore and develop confidence in noticing and understanding their baby’s cues.
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Educators use an individualised approach so parents can use and adapt healthy touch, baby massage and other types of interaction in response to these cues, in ways that suit their own parenting style and choices. If you are curious about the research behind our work, read the section "How does cue-based infant massage benefit babies?" here.
