International World Peace Day September 21
Peaceful Touch
http://liddlekidz.com/peaceful-touch-training.html
In Sweden, where more than 300,000 children practice Peaceful Touch® on a regular basis, both teachers and parents report lower levels of anxiety and aggression, and improved group functioning. Children appear to be calmer, have longer periods of concentration and are eager to attend school when Peaceful Touch® routines are part of their daily structure.
When Axelson Institute began the Peaceful Touch® program in Stockholm in the early 1990s, it focused on teachers and school aides learning basic Swedish massage techniques in order to provide massage for children. But everywhere that Peaceful Touch® was used, the children themselves assimilated the basic massage strokes, and children as well as adults gave and received Peaceful Touch®.
In the United States and Canada, Peaceful Touch® includes the lesson that Swedish children taught the program founders, that the gift of a child's touch carries the full value of human touch. Adult touch is not required for the program to produce full benefits. Adults can guide and educate children with or without touching them, according to school and local guidelines. Teachers can demonstrate Peaceful Touch® strokes in the air or on a stuffed animal in order to teach the children in the classroom.
As a teacher, we encourage you to learn how to use this healthy touch approach within your classroom. The Peaceful Touch® training is for elementary and pre-school teachers, usually held at the school site or in a college early childhood education program. It gives participants not only an expanded personal awareness of the benefits of touch, but multiple hands on practices to integrate into their work with children. The focus is on children ages 3 through 8, but the workshop experience can also benefit infant caregivers as well as teachers of children in later elementary grades.
The Peaceful Touch® workshop is best presented in versions of between 8 and 12 hours, over 2 or 3 sessions, conducted during preset workshops, and can be scheduled to individually train educators in a particular school setting.
One of our top priorities is to bring the work of Peaceful Touch® to children living in communities that face the obstacles of poverty and violence. We believe that the introduction of safe and nurturing touch will have a great impact on the future lives of children, ensuring that children feel cared for, loved and empowered to make appropriate choices that affect their future in a positive way.
About the Peaceful Touch Trainer
Tina Allen is an internationally respected Pediatric Massage Master Teacher, Developmental Baby Massage Teacher and a Licensed Massage Therapist with specialized training in providing massage therapy for children with special healthcare needs. Tina traveled to Stockholm, Sweden and had the opportunity to meet with Axelsons Institute about the Peaceful Touch® Program. Through combined efforts, she is delighted to bring Peaceful Touch® to children and families in the United States and Canada. Tina Allen, LMT, CPMMT, CPMT, CIMT http://liddlekidz.com/about-tina-allen.html