BBC radio 2 discusses Massage in the Classroom
Massage in the classroom has raised complaints
We were listening to the Jeremy Vine show on BBC 2 yesterday where he was talking about massage in Schools. A school in Sheffield have started running massage after lunchtime to help calm children down and get them ready for the afternoon.
Some parents have complained saying it is distracting and they want their children to be learning and not massaging each other.
Parents were saying that it was wrong and one lady said she didn't even massage her own daughter let alone letting a boy massage her daughter. Parents have said that it blurs the line between appropriate and inappropriate touching.
One Parent, Mrs Beer, who has two children aged seven and nine at the school, said: 'I understand that children do need calming down after they have come in from lunch. I just think there's better relaxation techniques out there that can help with that, such as yoga, that has the same benefits as peer massage that doesn't involve them touching each other.
Massage does help children feel calm and help them respect each other and learn appropriate and in appropriate touch. I think it is a shame that massage has such bad press and is misinterpreted. If we can teach children massage from a young age, they would be comfortable with it.
We use massage as part of our Relaxation programme in schools and have had some amazing results. It is such a shame that such a natural and simple thing has been criticised.
Written by Marneta Viegas on 19 January 2012 06:05:38 - blog number: 266 - http://www.relaxkids.com/tips/uploads/headmassage.jpg - read 215 times