Page 10 - Baby Sleep Miracle (Mary-Ann Schuler) : Flip It & Read It

→ When babies cry, it helps them to have a responsive, caring, and

sensitive parent who helps them calm down. This gives the child the

message that their basic needs can be met and there are ways to handle

distress. This step requires that parent(s) know how to read their child’s

signals and gestures, as well as have a host of calming strategies at their

fingertips.

→ As a child matures, he learns to internalize strategies to self-calm.

Consistent use of good calming strategies helps the child lean which ones to

call upon in different situations. The child also observes others solve similar

problems and learns when and where to use which strategies.

Calming strategies and environmental modifications are most useful when

one anticipates what could go wrong and have things in place for that

moment when the child needs them.

This leads to the importance of teaching the child to understand the

precursors of irritability, to anticipate the onset of frustration and distress,

and to use appropriate strategies that are available.

Self-calming depends on the ability to problem solve before, during, and

after a distressing episode.

The child gradually learns a variety of ways to help himself organize and

monitor his own actions and to tolerate various negative emotions.

To help your child become a thinking child, it is useful to help him or her

step out of the negative emotions and be thoughtful about the sequence of

events that occurred. Many parents say things like “I’ve told him a thousand

times that when he falls apart, he needs to go to his bedroom and calm

© 2016 Mary-Ann Schuler - WWW.BABYSLEEPMIRACLE.COM 13