Page 16 - Baby Sleep Miracle (Mary-Ann Schuler) : Flip It & Read It

The key principle to keep in mind is that we need to teach your child to calm
himself down, to become a better problem solver, and to tolerate distress
when he can’t change a frustrating situation.

As parents we need to keep calm, understand our own limits, and make a
plan that will work. At the same time, it is essential for you to understand
your child’s distress and feelings while learning how to set limits and
redirect your child to purposeful activity.

Below are listed a number of guidelines that can be used in helping your
child become a happier child:

→ Rule Out Medical Problems

When an infant or child is inconsolable, it is important to determine if the
child has any medical problem that may be the primary reason for the crying
or chronic irritability.

→ Address Irritability-Generating Sensory Hypersensitivities

Inconsolability may be related to hypersensitivities that the child has to
environmental stimulation. These hypersensitivities may include clothes that
agitates the child, noises that overstimulate him, or too many activities in a
room that create an overloading effect.

A common problem confronting the parent who is trying to console a crying
child is a tendency to become frantic when their efforts do not seem to

work.

You may find yourself rocking your child in a forward and back motion for a
few minutes, then swinging your child in the air when the crying resumes.

Or if your child is older, you may hand him a book to look at, music to listen
to, or convince him to go outside for a change of scenery.

When each of your ideas fail to work, you find yourself scanning the list in
your mind to offer something else that might work.

Whatever you do, it’s a good idea to step back and think how many things
did you just do to help your child calm down? If you count more than three,

© 2016 Mary-Ann Schuler - WWW.BABYSLEEPMIRACLE.COM 19