Arguments against motion sickness
A child's sleep is a physiological need, and motion sickness actually prevents you from falling asleep fully. With such interference, sleep becomes restless, intermittent, shallow, and the baby becomes anxious and dependent.
The organ of balance - the vestibular apparatus - is still weak and undeveloped in the child, while gross interference from the outside - motion sickness - is unnatural. The baby is training to feel dizzy, and in the future (this is just a hypothesis, a pessimistic assumption!) this habit will lead to the need for “dizziness” stimulants: alcohol, tobacco, etc.
In part of the research work on the psychology of addiction and the need for extreme sports, convincing substantiations are made of the relationship between the level of development of the psyche, requiring constant doses of adrenaline, and the tradition of actively rocking children, accepted in the area where the subjects grew up.
The baby wakes up precisely because he “knows”: as soon as he falls asleep, relaxes, surrendering to the rhythm of the rocking, he will be left alone. Motion sickness is a distraction for adults.
Pinched spine, nagging pain in the arms - this is an incomplete list of health problems that threaten followers of motion sickness. A sick mother is a disaster for the baby.
The Ministry of Health explained why you should not shake a child
In Ukraine, 5% of parents shake their child
for the purpose of calming down and do not know that he is going through a period of so-called
“purple crying”.
Meanwhile, shaking can be deadly
. This is stated in a message from the Public Health Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine on Facebook.
So, shaken baby syndrome
, as defined by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is a severe form of physical abuse of a child that occurs as a result of violent shaking of the shoulders, arms or legs.
Shaking a child can lead to the following consequences:
- loss of consciousness,
- breathing problems (irregular breathing or lack of breathing),
- lack of pulse,
- changing sleep patterns,
- vomit,
- convulsions,
- irritability,
- deterioration or loss of appetite,
- visual impairment,
- blindness,
- speech disorder,
- severe motor dysfunction,
- developmental delay,
- serious brain damage,
- disability and even death.
The Ministry of Health also recalled that purple crying
The first months of life, which is why parents often resort to shaking, is a period in a child's life during which he can cry for more than five hours a day without any reason.
It begins at two weeks of age and can last up to 3-4 months.
Purple ( PURPLE
) is an abbreviation of English words proposed by the National Center for Shaken Baby Syndrome, USA, which means:
- Peak
(peak) – crying reaches a peak at two months, then decreases.
- Unpredictable
(unpredictable) – prolonged crying that starts and stops without any reason.
- Resistant
(persistent) – the child may cry for a long time, despite reassurance.
- Pain
(pain) – the child has an expression of pain on his face.
- Long
(long) – crying can last for hours.
- Evening
(evening) – the child cries more in the evening.
A study conducted by the International Center for Development and Leadership together with medical experts showed that in Ukraine 5% of parents shake their child to calm them down.
and they don’t know that he is going through a period of “purple crying.”
The Ministry of Health, together with the Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for Children’s Rights and Rotary Clubs in Ukraine, is implementing the project “Don’t shake the child”
, which has created a number of educational videos and printed materials that talk about this problem and ways to prevent it.
“Be patient, don’t shake the baby, and she will give you many joyful moments in life! And, according to research, the presence of at least one child in a family increases the life expectancy of parents by 1.5-2 years,” the Ministry of Health urged.
As OBOZREVATEL reported, music lessons improve memory and attention in children. These conclusions were reached by scientists from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, who analyzed the brains of children who studied music.
Arguments for motion sickness
In traditional folk culture, a gently rocking cradle and a lullaby are indispensable attributes of a baby falling asleep. Doubts arose in the era of the rapid twentieth century, the century of human alienation from the natural and harmonious natural order. The origins of the condemnation lie in the ideology of that time: a woman should return to production as soon as possible, stand at the machine, etc. Where can we pay attention to the baby and be physically inseparable from him?
The vestibular apparatus of children begins to develop during the mother's pregnancy. The rhythm of the mother’s steps helps the child lay the foundations for an adequate perception of space. Consequently, even after childbirth, this initiative simply needs to be developed - carried in your arms and rocked to sleep.
Uniform, calm, measured rocking calms both the mother, who must take care of both the newborn baby and the child “within herself.” Only calmness and a feeling of comfort on both sides will give a positive effect.
Regular rocking improves your baby's sleep. Mother's hands, the smell, the aftertaste of mother's milk are a guarantee of the development of a calm, balanced personality.
None of the young animals (except primates) tolerate or strive for motion sickness. Try putting a puppy or kitten on a swing! According to Darwin's theory, our distant ancestors jumped from branch to branch, easily and freely covering distances located at different height levels. Thus, strengthening these abilities is a worthwhile and right thing to do.
Avoiding motion sickness before bed
The baby is accustomed to sleeping while moving throughout pregnancy , so it’s okay if a mother helps her baby fall asleep by rocking him to sleep immediately after birth or during the first few weeks, especially since the period of wakefulness is very often almost equal to the feeding period.
Many of us rock our newborn babies to sleep, but when babies are 8, 10, 18, 24 or 30 months old, they are too old for that, and heavy! It is at this moment that we are talking about the bad habit of connecting motion sickness with sleep , and, rather, about the harm to mother’s health, which the baby acquired with the help of mother’s love on the one hand, and the lack of experience of falling asleep independently on the other. It is important to know that during motion sickness there is a constant adaptation to the position of the body in space, so sleep cannot go into a deep phase , as would happen to a baby who, without motion sickness, would fall asleep in his crib.
In order to break the connection between motion sickness and sleep, constantly change the techniques you use to help your baby fall asleep. Gradually, by the age of 2 months, become more of an observer at bedtime rather than an active doer. Swaddle, put the baby in the crib, and then sit next to him, stroke him, sing a quiet lullaby.
If you always use rocking as a method of getting to sleep, just try other options, they will help too. Here are some tips on how to stop motion sickness:
1. REDUCE THE TIME OF MOTION SICKNESS BY TIME. Gradually reduce the time of motion sickness, look at the clock. Gradually, the child will wean himself from motion sickness.
2. INSTEAD OF ROCKING, JUST HOLD IN YOUR HANDS. Try just sitting near the crib with the baby in your arms, you don’t always have to just walk around the room, often it’s enough for the baby to feel your touch and warmth.
3. DO NOT ALLOW TO FALL ASLEEP DURING MOTION MOTION. Don't let your baby fall asleep in your arms; he should fall asleep in his own bed.
4. PLACE THE CHILD IN THE CRIB WHICH IS NOT SLEEPING. Soothe with your voice, strokes, and allow the child to overcome the last stage of falling asleep on his own.
Remember:
1. If you take a child in your arms, and he immediately calms down, then this is more likely the child’s demand to take him in your arms , and not his request for help.
2. Every mother can stop rocking her baby to sleep before bed, there are no exceptions.
3. Any changes must begin when the baby is healthy and feeling well.
PhysiologySleep AssociationsSleep HabitsSleep IndependentlyFalling Asleep
Sleep training Self-soothing
How not to accustom your child to rocking before bed or wean him off
It is important to understand from the very beginning that there is no universal remedy that would definitely help every child and every mother, but there are some principles that should be relied upon. And the most important of them: watch your child, his rhythms, needs, interests, preferences. What can calm him down besides his mother’s hands?
And taking these observations into account, you:
- Create the right environment.
- Create the necessary rituals.
- Satisfy needs and build trusting relationships.
Let's sum it up
Rocking in your arms before bed is not the only way to put your baby to sleep. After two months, you can and should expand the ways you interact with your child, including to calm him down or help him fall asleep. To do this, it is important to observe him and his needs, look for the causes of discomfort and suggest new ways, as well as involve other adults, expanding the baby’s social circle.
If a child calms down and falls asleep only during motion sickness, this is a reason to think and think through the environment, review the daily routine and rituals, or contact a specialist.
Causes of motion sickness
We will not go deep into medical terms. Let’s just say that children get motion sickness in transport for one reason – because their vestibular apparatus is not fully formed. It takes some time for it to form and strengthen: in some children it forms earlier, in others later, and there are also children who are already born with a strong vestibular apparatus. Accordingly, they don’t get seasick at all.
Children under 2 years old also do not get motion sickness. On the contrary, light rhythmic rocking is useful for them, as it helps them calm down and fall asleep more soundly. That's why mothers rock their babies to sleep. Children who have reached the age of 12 are not at risk of motion sickness - for the reason that they already have
The vestibular apparatus has formed and strengthened. Consequently, children aged 2 to 12 years are in the “risk zone”. These are the main troubles that arise when traveling in public transport.
Diversity of reactions to different situations and trusting relationships
As the baby grows, the parent's repertoire of interaction with him should expand. Instead of rocking a six-month-old baby, and even more so after one year, you can hold his hand, tell him soothing stories, while stroking his back.
Your baby may have a favorite toy that will make it easier for him to fall asleep. First you need to watch the child: there is probably something other than mother’s hands that can calm him down. It is important that the child feels that you are nearby and ready to respond to his needs.
By the way, about needs. Often mothers continue to rock (or, rather, shake) a sleepless and crying baby, without trying to understand what the real reason is and eliminate it. It could be teething, colic, or the fact that the child has not eaten well, is thirsty or wants to go to the toilet, his clothes are rubbing, or some sounds, lights, or smells are bothering him...
There can be many of these reasons, and a sensitive mother learns to carefully observe the baby’s behavior and respond adequately to his needs and causes of concern. And sometimes persistent difficulties with sleep and falling asleep can signal tone that is difficult to see with the naked eye, or other serious problems for which it is better to consult a specialist.
