If you're in a group of parents, at a parent-teacher conference, at school, or in any of those places where moms and dads like to gather, it may only be a matter of time before the conversation reaches something shared and talked about more. It's baby crying.This gets to the heart of the issues that concern parents.
Most research confirms that most parenting advice is overly prescriptive—you either follow it to the letter and it works, or it's a flop. Meanwhile, the tricks most parents actually use would never appear in an advice book—they're just random ideas that parents try in a moment of creativity (or desperation) that happen to produce the desired results.
So parents were asked about those strategies—the real-life tricks parents use. After hearing the experiences of more than 800 parents, their favorite stories were published. While the book covers everything from picky eaters to children playing games Here are some tips on something that all new parents want advice on: how to soothe a crying baby.
Sometimes, the best thing isn't designed for your child.
God of War
There will be times when you buy something you think will make your parenting life easier, and unfortunately, it doesn't work at all. But you can reach for the first thing you have on hand, and it works like magic (at least once). These parents.
One night, during a wave of crying and screaming, “In a moment of desperation, my husband grabbed his electric toothbrush and flipped it over. He started waving the toothbrush around like a sleepwalking orchestra. And what do you know… the baby? He stopped crying. In a state of sleep-deprived euphoria, we took the brush head and placed it in the spot next to our newborn, and he was lulled to sleep… Did it work for our second daughter a few years later? Sure.”
If a toothbrush doesn't work, try some other devices.
Hello, every gadget you own makes some kind of noise. Maybe something in your home has the right frequency. It could be a distraction for a child.
Babies usually calm down when they hear certain sounds, such as a fan, washing machine, or hair dryer, or when driving down the street. All of these sounds, which may seem annoying, work to calm your baby and perhaps calm you personally.
I have worked for these parents:
“After hearing that the whir of the dishwasher calms a baby, we tried it ourselves. But it didn’t work for us, and we tried every kitchen tool until we found something that worked. Turns out, our daughter turns to the white noise of a fan over the oven; she can go from screaming to sound asleep in less than a minute because of it.
When thoughts run out, do what you think of the most.
I would love to know how these parents came up with this:
“When my 2-year-old daughter fights bedtime, my husband and I put her in her crib and do a synchronized dance to “Delta Spirit,” and she usually stops crying.
The big lesson is, of course, that kids are different. Everyone searches for and gets what they love. And the comforting thing is, like to think your way around being creative, the craziest idea that pops into your head—within reason—may be the key to stopping your child's rant. As always, parenting is largely a guessing game, and the best moments—the fleeting successes of discovering what actually works—are always better when shared. Keep us posted on all those triumphs.
