Most parents don’t take play seriously enough.  I know that seems like an oxymoron, but as I have watched my child play freely I’ve witnessed invaluable creativity, discovery and problem solving going on.  (I compare it to the times when my best creative ideas come to my mind– when I’m in the shower or when I am doing some routine task that is not working my analytical mind.)  Many parents are so eager to get their kids on the academic track of reading and/or analytical brain type thinking… and there is a time a little later in childhood for that… but what these parent don’t realize is that if a child’s mind is forced to focus on developing the thinking part of the brain at an early age, that child is not developing everything else as fully.  A mind that is engaged in serious thinking doesn’t have as much free energy to develop the senses (smell, touch, taste, sight & sound) and physical mastery of the body.  According to teachings by Rudolf Steiner, healthy development of the senses and the physical body equate to a healthy sense of self and relationship to the world.  These are important ingredients for a well-adjusted child.

So now I’ve found even more to back up these theories.  The journal Scientific American just came out with an article that sources many studies finding “free, imaginative play” to be crucial for “normal social, emotional and cognitive development”.  The article points out that it makes us “better adjusted, smarter and less stressed”.  Not only that, it may even prevent your child from becoming a future felon!  So take note, parents who are trying to create mini Einsteins: step back and let your kids play as they may.

Below is a link to the Scientific American article:

The Serious Need for Play: Scientific American

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When I was a television producer for Lifetime Television, I had a guest pediatrician on one of my shows that showed us how to soothe a crying baby instantly.  His name is Dr. Harvey Karp and he wrote the book called The Happiest Baby On The Block.  On the show, he took at crying baby and did what he called the “5 S’s”… and within seconds the baby was quiet and happy.  His technique simulates the baby’s experience of being in the womb.  The following are the 5 S’s:

• Swaddling simulates the walls of the womb.  Babies are used to being surrounded in a tight space, so you will notice that newborns have what is called a startle reflex– their arms fly out and they experience a sensation of falling because they are not being contained within the womb.  If they are swaddled with their arms tightly bound, the are happy because it gives them the feeling of being secure.

• Shushing is a sound you can make that simulates the sound that babies hear in the womb.  Babies hear the loud shushing sound in the pregnant mom’s body from all the blood and bodily fluids rushing through her system.  So most effective is to make loud shushing sounds or what even works is to run the vacuum cleaner or blow dryer.

• Swinging is the motion a baby feels when being rocked in the womb.

• Side lying is the position that is the most comfortable for a baby.  You can swing and shush a swaddled baby positioned on its side.

• Sucking calms the baby.  Breast feeding works best, but any kind of sucking will be calming to a baby.

The thing about the 5 S’s technique is that you have to do them all and get it right or it will not work to calm a crying baby.  I’ve found that swaddling is not the easiest thing to do especially at 3 in the morning when the baby is screaming and you are bleary-eyed tired.  What helped me is a product called the Miracle Blanket.  This blanket is made to make swaddling simple.  The swaddling blanket had built in flaps that wrap around the baby’s arms and tuck behind the back. This ensures a tightly bound baby which is essential for the swaddling technique to work.  Some people wonder if the baby will be uncomfortable with its arms bound tightly to the body, but it is actually a secure and natural feeling as if back in the womb.  Another great feature is that it has a flap that envelopes the feet and legs, so if you have a dirty diaper, you can change it without unswaddling the baby!

Target has the “Happiest Baby On The Block” DVD for $17.99.

The Miracle Blanket is about $30 at lullabylane.com or miracleblanket.com or amazon.com

Target has the “Happiest Baby On The Block” DVD for $17.99.  This is an invaluable gift for a new mom.  It shows you 5 techniques to quickly calm and soothe a crying baby.  They will be very happy they have this when their baby is keeping them up at night or inconsolable.  The 5 “S’s” (techniques) are swaddling, shuushing, swinging, side or stomach lying and sucking.

And the perfect thing to go with that is the Miracle Blanket.  This blanket is made to make swaddling simple. If you are the kind of person who is impatient and tired (which all new mom’s are) then swaddling can be a difficult thing to do especially with a crying baby in the middle of the night!  The swaddling blanket had built in flaps that wrap around the baby’s arms and tuck behind the back. This ensures a tightly bound baby which is essential to the swaddling technique to work.  Some people wonder if the baby will be uncomfortable with its arms bound tightly to the body, but it is actually a secure and natural feeling as if back in the womb where things are very snug toward the end of pregnancy.  When a baby’s arms flail it is actually scary for the baby because it the baby doesn’t feel held and contained like in the womb.  So anyway, the blanket really helps if you are going to try to swaddle and another great thing is that it has a flap that envelopes the feet and legs, so if you have a dirty diaper, you can change it without unswaddling the baby!
This is $30 at Lullaby Lane or online.