A sleeping baby is a magical sight, akin to a miracle. And this picture seems especially implausible to those tormented parents, whose babies cry for no apparent reason, arching in an arc, and shout without stopping 24 hours a day. Do not despair! And do not execute yourself - you are not a bad parent! You simply don’t know the ways that even the most capricious child can rock out, without at the same time depriving his mom and dad of clarity of mind, self-control and a sense of parental happiness. We will teach you how to calm a child.

From the very first words it is worth noting - all the tips below on how to calm a crying child (namely, a baby aged 0 to six months) relate to those cases when the baby cries and screams “for no apparent reason” - that is, his tummy does not hurt (not swollen, not dense, palpable), he is not hungry, not frozen and does not need a diaper change. Rather, these tips are for those tired and exhausted parents whose eyes read the question: "How to calm a child who just likes to cry and yell ?!"

How to calm a baby 0-3 months old? Get in his position!

One of the most competent international specialists in the field of baby crying is an American doctor, professor of child psychiatry, and pediatrician Harvey Karp. For over 20 years, he has been teaching young parents effective ways to quickly calm a crying infant. Dr. Harpe's book on these methods has long been an unconditional bestseller in its segment. On the one hand, these methods are extremely simple, judge for yourself:

• swaddling;
• keeping in position on the side;
• “White noise” or hissing;
• rhythmic wiggle;
• sucking.

But refrain from surprise and doubt until you try all five methods in action. What is the essence of this technique? In his book, Dr. Harvey uses such an ambiguous concept as "newborn children aged 0 to 3 months, such as" fourth trimester of pregnancy».

During this period of life, infants are in dire need of conditions that would closely copy the intrauterine environment of the mother. It is in such conditions that the kids instantly calm down, instinctively gaining a sense of familiar comfort and safety.

Actually, on this principle, Dr. Karp built his own technique. For example, dense swaddling of a newborn imitates its presence in the mother’s uterus in the last stages of pregnancy, where the baby is already quite crowded. The side position for him is also the most familiar. Hissing sounds are the most common for crumbs, because being in the womb, he constantly hears the mother's breathing and the passage of fluids through her intestines. Monotonous motion sickness (almost shaking) still unborn baby experiences constantly when his mother moves. And if you look at the ultrasound images, then make sure that starting from the 24th week, being in the mother’s womb, the baby reflexively sucks a finger almost all the time.

Here you have the nature of the origin of all five methods of effective motion sickness according to Harvey Karp.

And if you learn, using the tips of Dr. Karp, to imitate for your baby all these conditions that are most comfortable for him in the first months of his life, then you will not have problems with how to calm the baby. So:

5 magic ways of Harvey Carp, or How to calm a child:

Method 1: Swaddling.   Of course, you should not keep the newborn constantly tightly wrapped in diapers. But if the baby is worried and cannot sleep for a long time, sometimes it is enough to just wrap it tightly in a sheet or diaper (it is necessary to swaddle it along with the handles) so that the baby immediately calms down.

If your baby is often anxious and hard to fall asleep, it makes sense to buy modern diapers, which even dads can easily use.

Method 2: Stand on your side.   Put the child on your hand or on your knees on the side of the barrel so that it seems to tumble down a little on your stomach. Carefully support the baby’s head. This position can also be used in cases where the child is tormented by small colic.

Method 3: Rhythmic wiggle (shaking).   Keeping the child in a position on his side, begin not to strongly, but rhythmically swing him from side to side. This method can be immediately combined with the following - with imitation of hissing sounds.

See clearly how to properly hold the baby on its side and swing it:

Method 4: "White noise." The bottom line is to play monotonous hissing sounds right above the baby’s ear. Perhaps this is the most unusual of all the ways to calm a child put forward by Dr. Karp, but it works perfectly.

Method 5: Sucking.   A pacifier is an excellent universal sedative for a baby. With the same success, you can put the baby to the chest (if you are a nursing mother) or give a bottle with a small amount of the mixture.

According to the experience of Harvey Karp himself, sometimes it’s enough to apply one or two methods from this list so that the newborn stops crying and worrying. But often you have to use all five methods in sequence. However, according to the doctor, these simple methods, together or separately, help in almost 100 percent of cases.

You must admit that this is literally a “gift of heaven” for those exhausted parents who, figuratively speaking, are a step away from suicide because of constantly crying ...

4 ways to calm a baby older than 3 months

Dr. Harvey Karp’s methods are good, but it’s worth mentioning again - almost all of them are suitable only for newborn babies. If you try to swaddle or "whisper" a six-month-old crying baby, you are unlikely to succeed. Other ways can be tried to calm older children. Moreover, in this case, the expression "how to calm the baby" will not always equal the expression "how to rock the baby." To reassure means, first of all, to distract from screams and sobs.

Method 1: Wear in a sling.   Wearing a sling, by the way, combines at once two points from those proposed by Dr. Harvey: motion sickness and swaddling, and if you add to this list also "white noise", for example, go out with the crumbs to the street, then it will immediately become clear why children love slings so much. And if swaddling is suitable only for newborns, then from time to time you can wear a baby in a sling as long as you comfortably carry (literally) the weight of your baby.

Method 2: Switch attention.   Children older than 3 months already quite successfully and for a long time fix attention on objects and sounds - especially they are attracted by bright colors and clear, loud sounds. Make a noise with bright paper or a sachet, ring a bell, and watch any commercial on TV. All these manipulations (especially the last one!) Instantly capture the attention of the crumbs: he is distracted from the tantrum, begins to show interest and gradually calms down, calms down.

Method 3: Let the excess air out.   When crying, the child swallows a lot of air, which gives him a very unpleasant sensation. Thus, the tantrum risks closing itself into a circle: the baby cries, swallowing excess air, from which his stomach begins to hurt and he cries more than ever, swallowing air again and again. Therefore, as soon as the child begins to show anxiety or scream, take him in your arms and hold it for a while with a column - belching out the excess air, the baby is likely to calm down. And if not, use the previous method, trying to attract his attention with a bright toy or unusual sounds.

Method 4: Dance Together.   It may seem strange, but it is the smooth dancing movements that can help you solve the problem of how to calm a crying child. Take the baby in his arms, smile at him, talk to him in a soothing tone and move a little - swaying him from side to side, up and down, singing a simple melody. When the baby stops crying, put it briefly on the chest (if the baby is breast-fed, give a bottle of water) or give a dummy. In most cases, this works!

The baby falls asleep during breastfeeding - this problem worries many mothers. The scary thing is that young parents do not know how to properly put their baby to bed without breastfeeding. Use various methods that harm the health of the baby.

Before weaning a child to fall asleep in the chest, you should first familiarize yourself with all the ways, rules and features of the process. And only after that should attempts be made.

In the first months of life, the baby falls asleep during breastfeeding. This is due to the fact that the baby feels psychologically comfortable. Over time, this becomes a habit, without which the baby experiences problems falling asleep. The longer it lasts, the more the baby becomes dependent on breastfeeding. It turns into an emotional addiction to calm. The baby requires maternal breasts when hungry, aroused. There are several reasons for this:

1. Acquaintance with new people when visiting guests, going out to the street.
2. Change in diet, sleep.
3. Feeling of pain (cutting teeth).
4. Disputes, disagreements in the family. The baby sensitively feels the emotional state of the mother and responds with anxiety if the woman is worried.
5. A deficiency in maternal attention is usually associated with an early mother's exit to work.
6. Increased infant fatigue. It occurs if the parents did not notice the signs of fatigue of the baby on time, did not put the baby to sleep.
7. The discomfort. It is characterized by extraneous sounds, bright objects within the sight of the baby.

When a baby sucks a breast in a dream, it calms down faster and falls asleep, which allows mom to relax.

Who is it for?

Weaning a baby to fall asleep without breastfeeding is suitable if the mother is in no hurry to wean. An important factor is the age of the baby. The older the baby, the easier it is to do it. If the child is already 1-2 years old, weaning him off to sleep without a chest is not difficult. Before this age, for the baby to fall asleep, he needs to suck something.

The baby will not be able to abandon her mother’s breast before reaching 1.5 years. Up to this age, the child is strongly attached to his mother.

Weaning a baby from breastfeeding is due to the fact that the baby begins to constantly wake up at night and demand maternal breasts. Since mother and baby regularly wake up at night, they both do not get enough sleep. This causes many diseases to develop.

How to teach a child to fall asleep without breast

It is important to eliminate external irritants that prevent the baby from falling asleep normally. For babies, breastfeeding is Mom's presence, calm, protection. A sharp weaning will provoke the development of stress, which will entail serious consequences.

Mother's milk contains sedative components. These substances help calm the baby’s nervous system. And also these elements have an analgesic effect, which is very important during the period of growth of the baby’s teeth.

The age of children, when allowed to wean from breastfeeding, should be more than 1.5 years. Until this time, the child is not ready.

To put a newborn baby to sleep without a chest, you must adhere to the following tips:

1. Ask relatives to lay the baby. This factor will wean the baby from a regular stay with her mother.
2. It is recommended to read a crumb of a fairy tale before going to bed. However, you need to do this in a calm and measured voice. Instead of fairy tales, you can sing lullabies or turn on a calm, light melody. So the baby falls asleep faster.
3. To speed up the process of falling asleep, the crumbs are given a relaxing massage. The procedure includes stroking from top to bottom.

By following these simple rules, you can put your baby to bed without any problems.

Laying the baby without breastfeeding is required not only at night, but also during the day and at night awakenings.

First stage

To teach a child to sleep without a chest, you can distract the baby with some activity. However, it is forbidden to combine entertainment and breastfeeding.

If a child falls asleep with a chest, you can distract the baby by reading, talking, stroking and similar actions. However, you need to be prepared for the fact that after being distracted by reading, talking and other distractions, the baby will fall asleep with a chest in his mouth anyway. Be patient. Sooner or later, the baby will fall asleep, listening to reading, talking.

Second phase

When the baby has learned to fall asleep while reading, one should gradually stop offering breasts before going to bed. Instead of feeding, the baby should be immediately distracted by other methods studied. However, if a child asks for food, you should not refuse. You just need to limit it a little in time.

A few key points

Mom is not allowed to use her breast during the day to calm her baby. In the afternoon, it is recommended that you only breastfeed the baby. And to calm down, use distractions.

In the first few days, it is recommended to use the "timer" method. For this, you need to turn on the timer for 10 minutes at the moment when the child is going to sleep. It should be explained to the baby that as soon as time runs out, you need to stop sucking and go to bed. At first it will be difficult to implement, be patient. After a few days, reduce the time to 4 minutes. In parallel, practice reading fairy tales and talking.

And after a couple of days to cancel breastfeeding before bedtime and at night will be quite simple.

Why the baby wakes up at night

Before the age of 15 months, the baby wakes up regularly at night. This is due to several factors:

1. Toothaches and other illnesses.
2. Stage of development. During this period, the baby learns to get up and walk, so he can wake up and jump up at night, practicing this skill.
3. Change of mode. Usually during this period of life, the child begins to sleep less at night.

When the baby has weaned from the chest and sleeps calmly, it is required to limit the nightly attachments to the chest. The timer method will also help. Reducing the period of feeding, it is important to distract the baby with conversations, fairy tales.

A competent night feeding regimen contributes to a decrease in night feedings. In order for the baby to wake up less often at night, it should be fed half an hour before the last time.

It is also required to observe several rules:

1. As soon as the baby wakes up, one should not give him breasts. If you give children breasts on demand, in the future weeping, the child will achieve everything he wants. In this case, it is recommended to talk with the baby, stroke, press. Usually it is enough for children to feel the presence of the mother to calm down.
2. Do not scold the baby, because the kids feel intonation. Raising your voice will make the situation worse.
3. It is forbidden to lie to children, since in the future the baby will also begin to deceive.

Main mistakes

There are several options for laying a baby without breastfeeding, but psychologists do not approve of them:

1. You should not put the child to sleep in the crib, and then go to the next room and wait until the baby cries and falls asleep. This method works, but it is dangerous in that it leads to a nervous breakdown. Against the background of nervous disorders, various diseases develop, including psychological ones.
2. It is not recommended to be near and ignore the crying of the child. He does not understand why his mother does not approach him anymore, it scares him, which becomes a serious test for the nervous system.
3. Dummies should also not be used, as they spoil the bite.
4. Smear the breast with substances with unpleasant odors. This method harms the health of the crumbs.
5. Draw awesome images on your chest. The baby will begin to be afraid of her, and nervous shocks are dangerous for babies.

The baby can be weaned off to fall asleep with the mother's breast, but this requires patience. The procedure should be carried out gradually, sequentially. If the baby is used to falling asleep on their own, you can begin the process of weaning.

There are many ways how to help a child fall asleep and calm him before going to bed, but each is effective in a single case for a single child.

Again, it all depends on why the baby is not sleeping? There can be many reasons. For example, due to the weather. What does it mean? Yesterday it was cold, but today it has become sharply warm and vice versa. Also cloudy weather: snow, rain affect the infant's sleep. Another reason for not wanting to sleep: tummy troubles.

So, for example, infantile colic or just a pain in the abdomen - can become the cause of the crying baby, and as a result of unwillingness to sleep. One of the reasons for a child’s poor sleep can be fatigue. A vivid example of this is the presence of a large number of people around, for example, relatives who want to pay attention to your child.

So, let's move on from reasons to practice. How to euthanize a child? Let's try to go through all the methods that I know.

• When the child was not yet a month old, I used your method of euthanizing a child. I don’t even know what to call him. I’ll describe it better. I walked back and forth through the kitchen very quickly. I walked around 600-700 steps, and the child calmed down and, in the end, fell asleep. Perhaps this method can be attributed to motion sickness. I had to use it in this form, because the baby after feeding did not want to just sit on the handles. He needed me to move. As soon as I stopped, he immediately showed his displeasure.
• The sound of water   (This also includes the noise of a washing machine, hairdryer and vacuum cleaner). A very effective and natural method of calming the baby, as in the mother’s tummy, the child was in a constant noise stream (heart murmur, blood flow, environmental sounds). It helps not only the baby fall asleep, but also just calms down and does not cry. We take the baby in our arms and go to the bathroom. Everything is very simple. It doesn’t always help of course. If the child is very overexcited, then the sound of water can not get away.
• Tight swaddling   in conjunction with any of the above methods to calm the baby.
  
  
    This method can be used at night. Tight swaddling allows many children to sleep a large number of hours at night, which undoubtedly pleases parents. I did not use this method, because my baby does not like to swaddle. But I found an alternative a bit later. At the end of the second month, I remembered how my baby was lying under a lamp in the hospital. The nurse swaddled his arms and legs in such a way that only they, and not the whole body, were bound. How to swaddle only handles (I only wrapped handles because the baby distracted themselves with them and constantly woke up)? Take a diaper, preferably a square one, fold it in half diagonally to make a triangle. Next, we lay out the diaper as follows: the head of the child is located in the place where the arrow is.
    We turn the diaper corners under the handles pressed to the body. Thus, it turns out that the edges of the diaper are tucked under the back and bottom of the baby.
• Mobile.
  
  
  Who does not know what it is, can find a lot of information on the net. I will not dwell on this in detail. I’ll just say that this method does not suit everyone. My baby, looking at the toys moving in a circle, had fun and did not fall asleep at all, but only more and more disinhibited. This device helps me when I need to do something in the kitchen or want to lie longer in bed. 20 minutes enough to distract him.
• Nipple.
  
  
    It helps to calm the baby in combination with the methods of motion sickness, swaddling, lullaby. This method is suitable for those with a child accustomed to this device.
• Joint dream.
  
  
    Also does not always work. Helped only if the child is already very tired or after feeding, as well as in combination with a pacifier.
• Chest.
  
  
    Of course, how could we forget about it. Feeding or just sucking your breasts can help your baby fall asleep or just calm down. But here you need to know the measure. No need to let the baby hang on your chest all day. Better try other methods.
• Also effective are walks in the open air.
  
  
    This is only useful, not only to the baby, but also to the mother, who needs physical activity after childbirth in order to regain her form. And you can make dad or grandmother walk, and remake a bunch of household chores or just sleep. As I generally act.
• Reading fairy tales. This method is for older children. I myself have not yet reached it, because we are still very little ones.
• And there is funny video "7 ways to put your baby to bed"that I came across on the Internet. I advise you to look, you will not regret it.

Ideally, a newborn baby wakes up every two hours. However, in fact, the child cries at night much more often. Even if the baby sleeps with his mother, the mother shudders at his every move and uneven sigh. Night after night, she sleeps in the same position on the edge of the bed, afraid to move. After a year, the sleep deficit becomes critical, and the woman wonders: should I not heed the advice from the category of "let the baby cry out"? All mothers who, having got tired, have resorted to this method cannot be mistaken?

There are two tough approaches to organizing baby sleep. The first is that the child should be allowed to cry ad libitum, and then he will stop calling his parents every five minutes. The second comes down to the fact that mom should fly up to the baby at every his squeak. Both have their positive and negative sides. We will figure out how to put a baby to sleep without any medications.

How to quickly put a baby to sleep on Spock

Dr. Benjamin Spock was very popular with our grandmothers. This extremely extraordinary person, assured that babies should be taught to live on a schedule. - after 3-4 hours, not earlier. And do not accustom to your hands, otherwise you will not wean. He assured that often children manipulate their parents, and therefore they wake up every five minutes just like that. So that mom came up and picked up on the hands. The best way to get rid of this kind of “childish egoism” is to leave it to scream. It’ll say, it’ll say yes, it will stop, the eminent doctor believes. This will teach him to calm down himself, and not to manipulate adults. “If the baby is crying before vomiting, go into the room, clean up after him and leave without coming into contact with him,” advises Spock. As a result, the children did learn independent sleep, but in adulthood this led to gigantic psychological problems.

So, in the 70s, Dr. T. Berry Brazelton studied newborns for whether they could be desperate or depressed. The kids, who cry inconsolably, trying to get their mother to react, were filmed. On the film, it is obvious that at first the children try to cry louder, and after some time, having tried the entire arsenal of funds and never having caught the mother’s look, they begin to turn away from her. In the end, they generally refuse to look at their mother, drop their heads, calm down and seem to fall into despair.

As a result, such children learn only one thing - you cannot trust anyone, and my needs mean nothing. In adulthood, such children do not know how to draw boundaries and say no, and loneliness and fear are considered a natural form of human existence. They do not know how to build long-term love affairs, and loneliness and pain are satisfied with the help of alcohol and drugs. These will not betray, and are always available. And all because the need for emotional contact with the mother is inborn.

Of course, as a result of introducing such an approach to the organization of baby sleep, you yourself will finally get enough sleep. And the baby will sleep all night. But at what cost. In addition, this method can hardly be defined as: "How to euthanize a child in a minute"

Satisfy every whim

Modern neurophysiological scientists have proven that the future of the child depends entirely on the parents. The fact is that 85% of human neural connections are formed up to three years on the basis of experience in relationships with mom and dad. The baby, who grew up in an atmosphere of love and attention, later considers the world to be good and generous. He grows up into a happy, healthy and caring adult. Scientists assure that the child must be picked up when he cries. His brain is not yet ready for manipulation, and at this age he cannot be spoiled.

Those same children whom parents often left to cry alone or angrily reacted to their crying, often show aggressive asocial behavior, mental illness and inability to cope with stress in their adult state.

The fact is that newborns are unable to express themselves with words that are familiar to us.

Therefore, they are very sensitive to pheromones. If mom is not around when she is needed, the baby loses the sense of security that gives him the smell and warmth of his mother’s body. Dr. Jay Gordon believes that children who are hugged or fed all night will sooner or later learn to calm down and sleep on their own.

However, not all women are able to selflessly serve the child. Many do all these mandatory actions “because it is necessary”, and as a result feel unhappy.

Sleep is an important part of a happy life. If mom does not get enough sleep regularly, she herself becomes aggressive. And often, having lost control, it can slip on the child. Your children will always copy your behavior, and if you are unhappy and ignore your own needs, they will grow up in the same adults.

Therefore, if you are already tired of sleeping like this, being fully placed at the disposal of your crumbs, think about your own well-being.

How to put a baby to sleep quickly: an alternative

How to euthanize an infant? If you are determined to teach your baby to sleep in his bed all night, keep the following in mind. Firstly, you cannot leave him alone in a room. It’s clear that you’re calmer: you don’t hear crying and you don’t feel stress. However, the baby feels abandoned. Just be there. Pat it, try the "hiss" method,. Sit close and just put your hand on it. He must know that you are always there. Also, music can lull a child.

Tell him that from this day the rules are changing, explain the new rules, and follow them steadily. Even if your child is crying, he will know that you are nearby. Over time, it is necessarily separate from you.

One of the problems of the parents of a five-year-old fidget is laying on a night or afternoon nap. Often the child categorically refuses to go to sleep, does not want to fall asleep alone, demands that they lie down with him, sing a song, read a book. How to solve the problem of falling asleep?

Constant sleep problems of five-year periods occur in almost all parents. There is so much interesting around, the TV is on, the light is on, the parents are not sleeping, and the child needs to go to bed. Any tricks are used in order to delay the time for going to bed as long as possible - you need to drink, then go to the toilet, then eat and so on. This can last indefinitely if you do not teach the child to fall asleep on his own. Of course, the best option would be to simultaneously lay on the dignity of all family members at once - everyone lay down, turned off the light and fell asleep. But not everyone has such an opportunity. Often, children require that one of the parents go to bed with him, otherwise they will not sleep. This can also be a problem.

How to put a baby to sleep at 5 years old

There are no universal and valid in all cases sets about this. Someone helps reading books before bedtime, someone falling asleep with a child, stroking his head, and someone only a strict look mom. Therefore, it is difficult to say what will help in your case. First of all, you need to create special sleepy rituals that are strictly observed every day. This will help the child to tune in to rest and falling asleep. It can be a warm bath, a book and a mom’s kiss for the night. Or it can be dad's tales and stroking the back. Gradually, you need to reduce the time to fall asleep, and to teach the child to fall asleep himself.

How to teach a 5 year old child to fall asleep on his own

No less difficult issue will be to fall asleep independently. Often, children sleep well when they come to the parent's bed, but flatly refuse to sleep in their bed, and fall asleep on their own. In this case, sleepy rituals will also help. It is important to talk with the child, and explain that he is already an adult and that he needs to sleep in his bed. Choose with him some stuffed animal, toy or object that he can take with him to sleep (only so that he does not harm the baby if the baby falls asleep with him in an embrace). Initially, you can lay the child by lying next to him and explaining that the toy is his mother’s assistant, he will protect the dream, while my mother also sits. You can come up with a fascinating fairy tale or a story about a toy that will help the baby to sleep peacefully.

A child of 5 years falls asleep for a long time

Also, at this age, it can be a problem that a child of 5 years falls asleep for a very long time. There are many reasons for this, perhaps the child was not very tired all day and did not use up all his energy. Then he needs more time to go to bed. It may be the other way round, the baby is overworked and the nervous system is overexcited, he needs time to balance all processes and sleep. If a child observes the strict regime of the day, and always lies down at the same time, sleep problems are rare. But with frequent failures in the mode, if the child gets up and lies down at different times - it is more difficult to fall asleep. The baby's body gets used to certain changes in activity, if they are not strictly observed, the nervous system may inadequately respond to usual actions. And even with timely laying, it will be difficult for the child to fall asleep. Therefore, the basis of a healthy sleep is a clear regime of the day, even on weekends.