How to wean a child from motion sickness

A baby has appeared in your life, and you give him all your love and affection. You kiss and hug the baby, touch the cheek to his legs and cheeks. And you will certainly rock your child so that the child calms down and falls asleep. Over time, this develops into a habit, and the baby simply refuses to fall asleep in a different way. And, if the motion sickness of a month-old baby is quite simple and even pleasant, swinging a one-year-old baby weighing more than 10 kg is quite problematic.

Why do children like motion sickness?

The fact is that motion sickness is a natural movement that the baby is used to in the womb. While in the mother’s stomach, the child is in a liquid, and Mom’s walking imitates a kind of smooth motion sickness. Therefore, after birth, the baby calms down with such longitudinal-translational movements.

Another reason why the baby calms down during motion sickness is not movement, but the simple proximity of the mother. The baby smells her, warmth, love and care. When he is next to his mother, he is comfortable, satisfying and safe. With this, he satisfies his natural instincts.

When you can not give up motion sickness

Sometimes in a child’s life there are times when he should never be denied motion sickness. Here are no longer pedagogical measures. Any mother feels such moments and will certainly press the baby to her breast.

1. If the child is sick. Besides the fact that the baby just wants to be with her mother during the painful period, motion sickness brings real benefits. If a child has colic, the heat of his mother’s body will help him get rid of pain. And progressive movements will quickly free the intestines of the crumbs from gaziks.
2. If the baby is scared. Sudden sounds, darkness, unpleasant people, bustle, fireworks - anything can frighten a child. At these moments, you must definitely press the child to yourself and slightly shake. This will show him that he is safe. Children who, in childhood, had close tactile contact with their mother, are more self-confident and stress resistant.
3. When the child broke out. Young parents know that active games and fervent laughter before bedtime will not lead to anything good. It is quite difficult to reassure the child, you need to either scold him, or press him to him and shake him. As practice shows, it is better to use the second option. The pacifying movements quickly calm the baby and he falls asleep.

Despite the fact that motion sickness is an integral part of the upbringing of a baby, you need to be able not only to rock it, but just hug the baby. Over time, he will understand that mother’s love is not only motion sickness. This is reading books, singing songs, finger games, stroking through the hair, a kiss on the cheeks and many other family rituals.

Why wean a child from motion sickness

In addition, according to some statements by doctors, motion sickness is quite harmful to the child.The fact is that the vestibular apparatus of the crumbs is not yet sufficiently formed, therefore, shaking a child, you simply cause him dizziness and even a slight loss of consciousness. And some mothers think that the baby just fell asleep.

If you have already accustomed your child to motion sickness, you need to eradicate this habit as soon as possible. And to make it easier if you prepare the baby for bed in advance.

How to prepare a child for sleep without motion sickness

If you have problems putting the child to bed, then most likely he will not immediately agree to a new way of falling asleep. Therefore, you need to prepare the child as much as possible so that he does not have forces for resistance, and he falls asleep in the position and condition that you offer him. There are several conditions for this.

Firstly, the child should be laid no earlier than after four hours of his wakefulness. If the baby has recently woken up, he will not want to sleep, especially without the usual motion sickness. Even better if the child at this point will be accustomed to some kind of regimen. In this case, physiology will do its job, and the baby will go to bed at the appropriate time.

You can give your child a light massage. Massage and stroke the crumbs of the arms and legs, neck, back, tummy, chest. All mothers know how fast and long the baby sleeps after a professional massage. Your hands are no worse than a specialist - do everything intuitively, obeying your feelings. The main thing is that you and the child like the massage.

After the massage, before bedtime it is very useful to redeem the baby. Make the water a little cool so that the baby moves more in the bath. After a month of age, you can use a rubber ring on your neck for swimming. He gives the child maximum freedom - he moves his arms and legs as he pleases. 10 minutes of such bathing and the child suffers incredible fatigue.

Before going to bed, do not forget to feed the baby tightly, this is the key to your long and peaceful sleep. At least for the next 3-4 hours. After all these manipulations, the child will fall asleep without motion sickness and any other conditions. He will just be exhausted.

How to wean a child from motion sickness

If you came across an extremely capricious and stubborn child, do not despair. If there are many ways to help you wean your baby from motion sickness.

1. If the child simply cannot fall asleep without movement, get a cradle or a special bed that can be rocked. There are some battery-powered models that cradle a baby without your participation. In extreme cases, you can act the old fashioned way - tie a rope to the side of the bed and periodically sip it.
2. If a child likes motion sickness not because of movement, but simply because his mother is nearby, you can do the following. Lay the baby with you on your bed. Just put the baby on the diaper next to it, hug it with your hand, pat it on the head, pat it on the priest, and press it on your body. The baby will feel your presence and warmth, and will be able to quickly fall asleep. After that, do not forget to shift the baby into your crib, otherwise you will look for solutions to another problem - how to wean the child from sharing sleep.
3. If the baby is more than 6 months old, he begins to understand a lot. Choose his favorite toy and put it in the crib. The child must understand that he will receive the toy only if he lies in his bed.
4. You can wean a child from motion sickness gradually. That is, take it in your hands, but do not rock it, but just hold it. Take the baby, pat it on the hair, pat on the back, but do not swing. A tired baby will not understand much of a difference and will quickly fall asleep.
5. To wean a child from motion sickness and, finally, make him sleep in his crib, some mothers go for such a trick. They just climb into the bed with the baby and wait until he falls asleep. The presence of the mother gives the child a sense of security and the baby quickly falls asleep. After that, you can go to sleep in your bed.
6. Over time, when the child gets used to falling asleep in his bed, you can simply put her next to her to hold the baby by the hand, have contact, though through the bars of the crib. The main thing is to let the child understand that you are near and at any moment will come to his aid.
7. Sometimes a child does not want to fall asleep in any way without motion sickness. Then you need to cheat a little and do the following. Sit right on your bed and stretch your legs. Put a pillow on your feet, and on top of your baby. Shake it lightly with your feet and read him a fairy tale. As soon as the baby begins to listen, gently stop swinging, so that the child is used to falling asleep without movement. And under monotonous reading, not only a child will fall asleep, but also an adult.
8. Sometimes a child perceives motion sickness as a kind of ritual necessary for going to bed. Usually babies clearly understand this in 7-9 months. Therefore, at this age, you need to introduce another ritual - singing a lullaby, reading your favorite book, wishing good night to all households, scratching the back.
9. Who says strollers can only be used outdoors? A stroller is a great way to calm babies who don't like falling asleep without motion sickness. Roll the baby back and forth across the room so that the baby calms down and falls asleep. After that, you can carefully transfer the child to your crib.

The most important thing after this is to prevent repeated motion sickness. Often tired mothers want to put the baby to bed as soon as possible and do anything for this. Including, and rock the baby. But, as you understand, this is a step back and all previous efforts are in vain.

Remember that weaning a child from motion sickness is quite difficult - this is not a one-day process. Some days are enough for some to calmly and independently fall asleep in the bed, while other babies require close contact with their mother after a month. If you have just such a situation, you need to change tactics, do something different, use a different way of laying. Be patient and persistent so that you succeed. And do not scold your baby for disobedience and whims - he is much more difficult in this situation.

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