Sensitive handling
The way in which you engage, handle and respond to the infant’s cues can significantly impact on the success of your intervention. Here are some tips for making your engagement whilst handling the baby both sensitive and responsive:
- Be aware of the infant as part of the parent-infant relationship (often referred to as the parent-infant “dyad”). Your handling and interactions with the baby will need to be responsive to the parent’s feelings about your involvement.
- Use parental expertise: the baby’s parents may be the best source of information when determining if responses to your handling are typical.
- What is the infant’s state of arousal? (is the baby alert enough to respond to the best of his/her ability). Is this the best time for this baby?
- Tune into infant cues and draw on the parents’ expertise on their baby by asking them in advance for signs to watch.
- Understand the infant’s sensory preferences: Handling with an under-responsive (low registration or sensory seeking) baby will differ greatly from that of a sensitive or avoidant baby.
- Be confidence with handling: confident handling will make the baby and caregiver feel safe
- Timing: Watch and wait for cues.
- Prepare the baby for movement and give time for the baby to organise responses.
- Give time for the baby to respond. Waiting a bit longer than feels intuitive may be necessary for a baby with developmental challenges.
Use your voice and face: A baby responds best to soft lilting voices with rises and falls in pitch, extended vowel sounds, and exaggerated facial expressions. See the following link to a parent article on the raising children website.
- Start a conversation: Imitate any sounds the infant makes and pause to observe any reaction. Can you establish any turn-taking?
- Talk to the baby about what you are doing: a soft calm voice can reassure the baby and help with regulation of emotion and anxiety.
- Use of optimal visual distance: Position your face or toy about 20 cm away from the infant’s face.
