Touch of health

Children who struggle to eat and sleep can find relief - and their appetites - through traditional Chinese massage. Liu Zhihua explores the benefits with practitioners and parents.

What does one do if a small child doesn't want to eat - or wakes up a lot in the night? Some parents may rush their children to a pediatrician, while for many Chinese, the answer will be a traditional Chinese massage therapist. This approach to massage, together with herbs and acupuncture, is a fundamental part of centuries-old traditional Chinese medicine. Nowadays, the therapy is enjoying a revival, with a growing allure for Chinese parents who seek an alternative to antibiotics for childhood ailments. "I always believed in TCM, but the effect of TCM massage on my child still surprised me," says Tang Dan, a young mother of a 2-year-old boy in Beijing.

"It was like magic."