Lee’s Summit, MO – For several years, the benefits of infant massage have been gaining in credibility and popular acceptance. The practice has enjoyed growing interest from the medical community, who have linked infant massage to a host of significant benefits, from relieving the discomfort of colic to improving neurological functioning. Not surprisingly, a growing number of parents are taking up infant massage with an eye not only toward improving their children’s health, but also as a means of enhancing parent-child bonding.
From the start, massage therapist Michelle Moe and former NFL lineman Jeff Criswell have been at the forefront of this movement with their KISSES FROM HEAVEN Infant Massage Kit. Nevertheless, they were surprised and gratified to learn that healthcare professionals now believe that infant massage may have its greatest impact yet in short-circuiting the “cycle of violence” and other factors that contribute to child abuse.
Since learning of the link, Michelle and Jeff – both of whom have young children of their own – have become tireless advocates of providing information on infant massage to at-risk parents. In fact, hospitals and community outreach programs in Missouri, Florida, New York, Michigan and South Dakota are using their KISSES FROM HEAVEN Infant Massage Kit, designed for infants and children, as part of their ongoing parental education programs with the specific aim of preventing incidents of child abuse. The centers say that they find the kits particularly helpful because the instructional materials, which are written for a third-grade reading level, make it easy for people of all backgrounds and education levels to grasp the basics of infant massage and begin using it within minutes of opening the box.
Michelle and Jeff’s efforts have been bolstered by the fact that every day more health care professionals are taking a serious look at how teaching infant massage, a practice which has been in use for over two decades, may prevent abuse. Many believe that massage allows at-risk parents to replace the violent touching they may have received from their parents with a loving and constructive alternative, while providing others a useful way to cope with the stresses of parenting while forging stronger bonds with their children. The early evidence on the subject is, in fact, truly compelling. In one dramatic instance, a county in Oregon where infant massage techniques have been taught to parents has seen an astonishing decrease of 50 percent in their rate of child abuse.
The link between preventing child abuse and infant massage is of great significance because, up to now, there have been no known effective preventive measures against it. In the meantime, abuse remains an extremely serious and growing problem. According to the Federal Government, over one million incidents and two thousand deaths from child abuse are reported yearly. Some conservative estimates suggest that the real numbers are much worse, with at least 80 percent of cases going unreported. In addition, the Children’s Defense Fund states that one in every three victims of physical abuse is an infant less than twelve months old. Sadly, when it comes to child abuse, government interventions are rarely effective – by the time police and social workers become involved, the real damage has been done.
With these facts in mind, Michelle and Jeff –have been working to persuade government agencies and public health facilities to educate new parents about infant massage. In fact, the Children’s Trust Fund of Missouri has recently allocated funding for infant massage programs. This represents the first time a Missouri state agency has funded any such program, representing their belief in the efficacy of infant massage as a pro-active tool in the fight against abuse.
Michelle, herself a survivor of abuse, is passionate on the subject. “Anyone who’s given a massage to an infant or child has experienced something profound. The powerful bond infant massage creates makes it a lot harder for a mom or dad to raise a hand against their child, ” Michelle said. “Infant massage gives parents a simple, positive step to take when things get tough,” Jeff said. “It’s sort of a bridge over the most difficult and frustrating times of child rearing when abuse is most likely to happen. It’s hard for me to see how anyone could resort to shaking or otherwise hurting a baby who won’t stop crying once they’ve been using massage,” he added.
Jeff, who is also the spokesman for the Child Abuse Prevention Association of Jackson County, Missouri, is fond of demonstrating infant massage techniques for the hospital and social service centers that are utilizing the kits. Observers can’t help but be impressed by the sight of the 6′7″, 300 pound former lineman’s impressive frame gently massaging a seven or eight pound infant. Criswell, however, is quick to bring the focus back to the subject of bonding and preventing child abuse.
“Of course it’s a great honor to have played for the Chiefs all those years, but when you think about it, it’s comparatively minor,” Jeff states. “The real honor, the really important achievement of my life so far, is spreading the message that infant massage is not only healthy and emotionally fulfilling for parents and children, but may prevent an enormous amount of pain and perhaps save countless lives.”
For more information go www.kissesfromheaven.com . To schedule an interview with either Jeff Criswell or Michell Moe, please contact either Bob Bovie or Marie Wente of Productivity, Inc. via e-mail at ProResponz@aol.com.
THE KISSES FROM HEAVEN STORY
The idea for KISSES FROM HEAVEN came about when Michelle Moe met Jeff Criswell through her massage therapy work with several Kansas Chiefs’ players. When Criswell and his wife, Nita, discovered that they were parents-to-be, Moe wanted to give a special gift to a special baby. She created a “prototype” infant massage kit, complete with her book, “Sprinkles of Love.” Criswell was so impressed with the kit’s concept, benefits and value that he became Moe’s business partner in the KISSES FROM HEAVEN venture. Edward R. Christophersen, Ph.D., a renowned professor of Pediatrics at the University of Missouri and Chief Psychologist at Kansas City’s Children’s Mercy Hospital noted, “Researchers have known for some time about the importance of touch to infants and toddlers but parents don’t read the research articles. It took Michelle Moe, a professional massage therapist, to develop and describe therapeutic massage in a way that’s easy to follow. Her book, Sprinkles of Love, can be used by parents to improve their relationship with their ‘little one.’”
can improve the vascular system in the face, shoulders and décolleté as well as providing a stress-reducing massage for headache relief and tension.