Social interaction skills
A young infant participates with a caregiver in responsive interactions focused on gentle touches.
[Place the infant on his/her back in a comfortable and secure reclining position.
Smile and begin talking with the infant. Example: “Good morning, Antonella! I am happy to see you today. Would you like to play with me?” Acknowledge the infant’s reactions. Example: “You are looking at me and smiling. I think you would like to play!”]
[Hold the teddy bear about 12 inches from the infant. Move the teddy bear slowly from side to side to attract the infant’s attention.]
Look, I have our special friend with me today! 
[Use a different voice for the bear to greet the infant. Example: “Hello, Lincoln! Would you like to play with me?”
Invite the infant to touch the bear.]
Our friend is a teddy bear. The teddy bear has soft fur. You can touch the soft fur!
[Move the teddy bear close to the infant’s hand and encourage him/her to touch the bear’s fur. Use your voice, not the bear’s voice, to describe the infant’s response to the bear. Example: “You are touching the teddy bear’s fur. The fur is soft. You are smiling at the bear. I think you like our teddy bear friend!”
Use the bear to interact with the infant for several moments. Invite the infant to continue to gently touch the bear. Demonstrate a gentle touch with the teddy bear. Example: “Look, I am patting the teddy bear’s head gently. I am using gentle touches. Would you like to touch our teddy bear’s head? You can pat our teddy bear’s head with gentle touches.” Describe the infant’s actions with the teddy bear. “Our friend likes your gentle touches!”
A very young infant may enjoy the bear softly touching him/her. Example: “The teddy bear is touching your arm. Do you feel the gentle touches? The teddy bear’s fur is soft.”
Gently redirect any touches that are not soft. Example: “Our teddy bear friend does not like you hitting his head. He likes gentle touches, like this. (Demonstrate.) We use gentle touches with the bear.
Describe and respond to the infant’s vocalizations and/or gestures, paying particular attention to any gentle touches. Example: “You touched the teddy bear’s soft fur. You used gentle touches with our teddy bear friend.”]
[Briefly describe highlights of the interaction. Example: “We had fun with our teddy bear friend! You touched the teddy bear’s soft fur. You used gentle touches on the teddy bear’s head. You used gentle touches on the teddy bear’s arm.”]
Social interaction skills
Older infants participate in guided play with teddy bears focused on gentle touches.
Invite two infants to play with you and the teddy bears. Encourage the infants to sit near one another. Give each infant a bear to touch and hold. Use the following strategies to encourage gentle touches with the teddy bears:
If the infants remain interested in the bears, invite them to gently rock their bears back and forth. You may wish to sing a soft lullaby. At the conclusion of the song, announce that it is time for the bears to go to sleep. Show the infants how to gently place the bears in a basket or on a shelf. Acknowledge each infant’s efforts to use gentle touches. Example: “Kinsley, you hugged your teddy bear gently. Then you rocked your teddy bear to sleep! Night night teddy bears!”
Some infants will use gentle touch with occasional prompts, whereas others may need more frequent reminders. Not surprisingly, a gentle touch will be challenging for infants to use if their usual pattern of play with toys is rougher. Repeatedly demonstrating a simple act of gently patting a teddy bear may be appropriate to pursue with some infants. Promptly and strongly reinforce an infant’s imitations of gentle treatment of a teddy bear.
Extra support
Enrichment
Materials Needed: soft toys
Provide teddy bears, soft toy animals, or other types of soft toys for infants to play with as you acknowledge and encourage positive interactions with the toys, and with other infants. Lead older infants in simple finger plays that involve gently touching the fingers of our own hands. Also, lead children in gently clapping their hands together. Emphasize the word gentle.
Materials Needed: none
Invite children in your care to participate in a rhyme or song that involves touch. Familiar nursery rhymes, such as “Ring Around the Rosie” (holding hands) or “London Bridge” (two children hold hands in an arch for others to pass underneath), are possibilities. Encourage children to use gentle touches during the rhymes. Infants may enjoy rhymes or games that involve touch, such as Pat-a-Cake or This Little Piggy.
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