Preparations for Massaging a Child With Growing Pains

Video Transcript

"Before we get started, let's talk about some of the things you might want to have handy when providing massage. Of course, we want Riley to be here, because he's the one who going to be getting massaged today. And Riley has oil. The oil that we have is grape-seed oil. It's an all natural, edible oil, which is important when you're providing massage for children. You want to use something that's all natural, organic, if possible, that's really good, and edible is really important, especially with small children. And it doesn't have to be grape-seed, like this, it can also be olive oil, or vegetable oil, it can be any number of things that you might have in your house, or even find in the grocery store. So that's something to look for. It doesn't have to be fancy massage oil. And actually, sometimes it's more important that they don't have all those extra smells that are in the massage oils. And they actually can smell you, and that helps you bond with your child. So it's really important to look for, just simple, basic, edible oil. We want to make sure that we have a comfortable spot for the child to lie down in doing parts of the massage. Make sure it's comfortable. It could be the couch, the bed, the floor, with a nice cozy blanket or mat, something where they're comfortable. And you're going to want a pillow if they're laying down. You want to make sure, again, that they're comfortable. So, that might involve their laying the head on the pillow. If they're having discomfort in their legs, you might want more than one pillow to help prop their legs up so that they have some relief from any strain on any of the muscles. Today, we'll use one pillow to help Riley relax."