In January 2021 the Whitworth launched a new project in partnership with Manchester Women’s Aid and Manchester Bangladeshi Women’s Organisation, Ananna.

‘The First 1000 days’ project works with women and babies under 2 from Bangladesh, Morocco, Albania and Pakistan who have been affected by domestic abuse. Over 6 weeks these families will work with Rachel Swanick, a Music Therapist, who will encourage bonding and attachment between the women and their babies through sensory play, music and art.

Creative Care Packages have been sent to each family which include paint, a range of craft materials and sensory objects like scarves and wooden spoons.

Using creative arts therapies can help families work through a wide range of emotional difficulties. In these creative session I use repeated songs to help the women and their children feel relaxed and connected to each other. Using these same songs each week helps the children to feel safe as they know what will happen next. Nursery rhymes and songs with simple language and actions help children to develop language for communication. Music and movement helps child to be aware of their bodies, too, which helps them to feel calm and happy.

Rachel Swanick, Music Therapist

The sessions provide the families with a positive, quality time together and strengthens the attachment and the child’s feel of security. The creative activities help the mothers to feel mindful and help make sense of feelings as they concentrate on a task with their children.

Rachel Swanick, Music Therapist

In the first session the group made ‘Song Spoons’

Babies needs to understand that when they do something, they are seen and heard by their parent. This starts in a small way through choices in activities. The Song Spoons not only encourage little ones to sing more (and develop their language), they will also be able to communicate in a playful way as they chosen which song they would like to sing with their parent. This is important for raising confident children.

In the second session the families explored finger painting.

Children learn through play and uses their senses. Finger painting helps babies to experience the sensation of the wet paint and encourages them (and their mothers) that it’s ok to get messy.

In the third session the families made elephant hand print artworks.

Building on the senses work from the last session, this is a full hand print picture. Both mother and child are encouraged to feel the paint on their hands together. The elephants in these pictures are holding trunks to feel safe and bonding together.

This project will continue until the end of February. At the end of the project we hope to support the women to attend the monthly PLAY Live workshops that the Whitworth run for families so that they can continue to engage in sensory play sessions into the future.

For more information on this project contact lucy.turner@manchester.ac.uk