Skin
For a child with sensitive skin, a light touch can feel like much more, and lotion, washing or a plaster becomes something the body wants to guard against. The pictures below show in advance what will happen, so touch is no surprise.
Skin
A hand touching the skin of a forearm
About this visual support
The skin is a child's largest sense organ, and for some children it sounds the alarm at the lightest touch. What an adult feels as a mild dab of cream can feel sharp, cold or unpleasant to the child, so resistance during skin care is not defiance but a body that registers the contact more strongly than those around it realise.
Visual support helps by removing the element of surprise. When pictures show where the cream goes, that the wash is short, or how a plaster is put on and taken off, the child knows exactly what is coming and can get ready instead of pulling away. Predictability eases the worry that often makes the sensation itself feel worse.
A practical tip is to let the child apply the cream themselves following the picture, because touch you control almost always feels gentler than touch that arrives from outside. Add the steps of skin care to Routined so the child can move through them at their own pace. The app can be tried free for fourteen days.