Need Advice: First time working on a child in student clinic

[Mar C]

My first day of massage at my school's student clinic is this coming Sunday the 22nd. My first massage of the day will be with a 10 year old girl. I have never worked on a child before, so I am looking for advice on what to do/what not to do and what to expect. I think her mother is receiving a massage at the same time with another therapist, so I'm not sure if my client will have a parent present. (Which makes me nervous, having someone staring at me for the whole hour, especially on my first day).

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[tori w]

Me...If parent could not be present in the same viewing area i would refuse to massage them. There is just too much going on in this country with innocent people getting accused of touching a child in the wrong way for me to massage them w/out a parent watching.

Plus in my state its illegalfor us to massage anyone under the age of 17 w/out a parent present or with there consent. Me I insist on parent being in my room. That way they know what I did to their child and that I did nothing wrong. Kids can take things the wrong way fast especially with touch.

 

[Hazza]

Another thing maybe to bear in mind is that, even though the parent/guardian is in the room, it is the child that is your client, you are there for the client, and it is up to them what happens, and not up to the parent. Maybe it would be worth explaining this first of all, that the parent is there to observe that their child is OK, and not to intervene in the treatment in any way. I haven't worked with children, so this is all 'in theory'. Hope it goes well for you, don't be too nervous, I'm sure you will do great!

 

[hustla_honeyz]

Need Advice: First time working on a child in student cl

I think her mother is receiving a massage at the same time with another therapist, so I'm not sure if my client will have a parent present. (Which makes me nervous, having someone staring at me for the whole hour, especially on my first day).

I don't care what the state laws are, the parent/guardian MUST be in the room for me to work on a young child. You just don't know what can come of things like this. Even if the mother says it's fine, her daughter has had massages by herself before. I still wouldn't do it. It's better to be safe than sorry! I would talk to whoever is in charge of your clinic about this before hand. Bottom line, if you're not comfortable you don't have to do it. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! Keep us posted.

Steph!

 

[mad92300]

Advice anyone?

Anyone have advice on what to "expect" during the actual massage? I have not worked on children before.

 

[Memphis]

Gessika,
Of course check with your local laws... if any. And ask your instructors at school. After all, they should be Up on the laws... and should not be asking you to do something that is against state laws.
When I was at the salon I had a young client who was 11 years old. Her parents had been going through a divorce and the Mom felt that massage (1/2 hr) was a wonderful way to treat the child to something special.
My 11 year old client, had been to a couple other MTs before me but she preferred me, she told me later, because my nails were not super long. LOL
Apparently the first one had nails which scratched during the massage, by accident I'm sure but she, hadn't spoken up about it... Of course I told her massage time is Her Time, and she knows to speak up about it now! LOL
She would come in 2-3 times per year... and was very involved in different sports, basketball, baseball and volleyball over the time I knew her. I happen to know that she took things she learned from her massages with me, and she and one of her classmates would massage their team members for a few minutes before and after practice. LOL
Her mother and I had a good talk about goals for her first session, and I think her mom was mostly hoping that it would be good for her daughter emotionally and to deal with self-esteem issues following the divorce. And I've been told by more than one client that my compassion towards them one me over. So I think that's probably what made the Mom feel like her daughter was in good hands.
I saw her for probably 3 years while I worked at the salon. I haven't worked at the salon for 2 years though.
I did insist that my 11 year old client and her mother go over the intake form together and that both sign it. I made sure to ask her if she had any questions, had them both tour the area where the massage would occur and though her mother didn't want to stay in the room for her daughter's massage, she did stay on the premises at my request. (She waited in the waiting area in the front.)
If the parent insists on the child having a massage while she has one... but you can't give it in the same room @ school where the mother is having hers... would it be possible for you to have an "Adjoining Room" to her mother? This Mommy and Me stuff makes it a little tricky for the therapist, doesn't it though? Sort of like a cheap "spa day" for them both. But it may lead to a great bond between the mom and the little girl.
I believe that Massage magazine has featured articles on Teen Massage in the past. I have had a few clients under the age of 18, but most of them have been the children of friends or family members. Sorry I can't be more help! I know I always wondered what my life would have been like if I'd discovered the benefits of massage at say 16 instead of 32! :

 

[JuJuB]

If the parent insists on the child having a massage while she has one... but you can't give it in the same room @ school where the mother is having hers... would it be possible for you to have an "Adjoining Room" to her mother?

Maestra- Thanks for sharing your story.

Our student clinic has several "bays" with hospital curtains separating them for privacy. There are about 4 bays in the room so it would be possible to have the mother and daughter in side by side bays and leave the curtain open.

 

[lightspeed21]

We had bays like that in my MT school too. You don't even have to leave the curtains open all the way between the bays IMO, even if it's just open a foot or two so that the child is reassured that her mother is near should be fine.
As for what to expect, I'd say expect to go lighter than normal at first... make sure to get a lot of feedback, you can then increase your pressure... you just want to make sure that the pressure is comfortable for them.
Ask for lots of feedback, I always tell people to feel free to tell me when they like something I do, or if they dislike something. It's even more cruicial with children.
After all, it's their session and we want them to be completely comfortable! We're an adult and they're a child, they're laying down under a sheet... we're standing over them... the power differential is huge. Just try to put yourself "in her shoes" and reassure her that you will not be upset if she speaks up during the session about not liking something or needing another blanket etc.
Make sure to ask her if she's in sports or if she carries a heavy backpack. Those seem to be a few of the "target" areas I'd have repeatedly come up for teens anyway. Don't know if that'll be an issue for your client yet.
I haven't done abdominal work on any children other than family members.
I think the greatest difference between working with the children I have and working with adults is that because of the "decrease" in body mass from some of our regular clients... it doesn't take as long to do a massage on a child. If she's booked for an hour... you may need to slow down. LOL

 

[Liz]

If she's booked for an hour... you may need to slow down.

I don't know if it will come into play with a 10 year old or not. I know younger children can't lay there like adults do. My 4 year old does about 20 mins or so before she gets fidgety. Of course, 4 is very different from 10!

Steph!

 

[jack h]

That's true Steph, I've found that my 4 year old niece can only tolerate about 15 minutes... usually she wants to go watch a movie or see what her sister's doing.
They've been living at my house for a couple months and when I'm heading out the door with my massage table she'll say, "But I want a massage!"
I'm like sorry hon, I have to go massage the paying customers first! LOL
Her not quite 20 month old sister can stand maybe 5 minutes... then she's got to run off and see what she can get into, or what her big sister is doing.
My 11 year old client had no problems laying there nicely for 30-40 minutes. I think there was even one time when she had a lot of issues due to starting a new sport, and I worked on her 45-50 minutes.
It's just going to depend on the child and how comfortable they feel with you and with the situation Gessika.
BTW, Gessika, will you return afterwards and let us know how it goes?

 

[Tint]

I have actually worked on a lot of children lately, for both relaxation and treatment work. I have a 10 year old, am a little league coach, and my daughters class mother, so I am around kids a lot. I will NOT work on any minor under the age of 18 without a parent present and would insist that the parent be there monitoring the session for the first time I work on them, after that if they want to also have a massage in the same room I would allow it. That way the child doesn't feel as if they are interrupting their parents session. I fully discuss the session with both present, make sure the child and the parent fully understands what I will be doing, I also ask the parent if they have ever had a massage and find out if either have any questions. I ask the child if they are involved in any sports, what they are doing currently in Gym class, and ask if they have any areas that are bothering them and what is going on in school as in midterms/finals other major tests. I also make sure that they are to tell me if they are uncomfortable at any point in time during the massage. Following the session I show them how to properly stretch the areas that are bothering them. Both also must sign my waiver so that they can never say that I didn't have thier permission.

These kids that are comming in have definite issues, one of them being an 11 year old pitcher that had the worst TP in his upper traps that I have ever seen, and was so greatful that I relieved his pain. He only had a 30 minute session where I worked on areas that he told me about... mainly his neck, shoulder, back, and achilles region.

As for time, it depends, if they have issues, it will take a full hour... if not I leave it up to their discretion. I ask them where they need work, sometimes I suggest the session. But for the most part they have come in for hour sessions. If you have extra time, do a good amount of reflexology, it will be great for relaxation and tender feet.

 

[Jabberwock]

Here is an update on how the minor massage went:

My client was a 10 year old girl who had never had a massage before. She came in with her mom and 14 year old sister who were also scheduled for massages at the same time. (Mom said that they had all received gift certificates for massages and it "sounded like fun"). Her mom came in with her for the intake and did all the talking and told me the girl was active in gymnastics but didn't have any current pain. I went through the whole spiel, telling her to take off only the clothes she was comfortable removing, assuring her that she could keep everything on if she'd like, and that she would be covered during the massage, and only the part I was massaging would be uncovered, etc. I also told her we could stop at anytime.

I left so she could get undressed and checked in with my supervisor. Her mom came out and told me she was ready and left for her massage. I did a full body Swedish on the girl, beginning with her back, it only took 45 minutes because she was so tiny (she had left her underwear and socks on, so I didn't do glutes or feet). My supervisor came in once to check in for a minute and then left. I kept checking in with her to see if the pressure was ok, and told her to let me know if she needed less or more. After the 45 minutes, I told her we had 15 left and asked her if there was anywhere she like me to work again (I also gave her the option of stopping early so she could go in to see her mom, who had ok'ed that). She asked me to work on her back again, so we went the full hour.

The student clinic policy at my school is that minors can be worked on, but the parent must sign a consent form and be on the premises. Of course, her mother could have stayed in the room with us if she'd liked. (Her 14 year old sister was in the bay next to us getting a massage too, the mom was in a different room for her massage, just the way it worked out with the student therapists they were booked with).

 

[Barrack]

Good job!

I had a 9 yr old girl on my first day of clinicals, so I feel your pain. We have both the curtained bays and private rooms - I was fortunate enough to have a private room on my first day. My child client had a lot of sports related pain and also had never had a massage before. Her mom was present for the whole thing.

Overall, I think it was a really good experience and the little girl loved it. She was too shy to say very much to me, but her mom was all praises when she finished dressing and came out.

Anyway, congrats! :wink: