Why I Wrote This Book

Lullaby Massage began with a simple question: why is something so beneficial for children so difficult to put into practice?

Decades of scientific research show that massage can support children’s emotional regulation, stress reduction, and overall well-being, and so parents and caregivers are frequently instructed to “massage your child”. Unfortunately, very few actually do it.

This is not surprising. Most of the published research is based on sessions delivered by professional massage therapists—not parents, nurses, teachers, or busy caregivers. As a result, the methods being promoted are mostly geared for reaching professionals and are too complex and technical for non-professionals.

In the absence of appropriate guidance, some caregivers resort to adapting methods that work with pre-mobile babies or adults. Usually, these efforts end in failure.

Without a simple, practical way to conduct massage with children, massage becomes another good idea that feels out of reach.

To close the gap in guidance, I wanted to offer caregivers a child-centered method that works in real homes, classrooms, hospitals, and childcare settings, that is structured and developmentally grounded, yet intuitive, rather than technical, and easy to learn without formal training.

This led to the rhyme-and-touch method and its application in Lullaby Massage. The method incorporates twelve massage treatments in a sequence that was carefully designed to promote relaxation and attunement. Each massage treatment is paired with a poem with language that expresses playfulness and warmth while giving caregivers simple cues about what to do next. All a caregiver needs to do is read the words aloud and follow along. In this way, the caregiver’s voice and hands work together, creating a soothing, predictable rhythm the child can feel and hear.

How Rhyme-and-Touch Works (with an Example)

One example is the poem Five Little Tubes of Toothpaste.

Using imagery easily associated with squeezing a tube of toothpaste and twisting on a cap, this playful rhyme conveys two massage movements for the fingers: gentle elongation and twisting. The duration of the massage is determined by the duration of the poem.

While many of the poems in Lullaby Massage are suitable at bedtime, some can be easily incorporated whenever there is a pause in activity and a need to instill calm. The time it takes to warm up a snack in the microwave, for example, can be filled with Five Little Tubes of Toothpaste, so that time spent impatiently waiting can become time that is restorative.

Other poems, such as Valentines, are often used at bedtime or naptime, where long, sweeping strokes along the back and tender words help children relax and prepare for rest.

Whether used to help a child settle for sleep or to inject moments of calm in daily activity, rhyme-and-touch turns ordinary moments into opportunities for comfort, closeness, and emotional steadiness.