The habit of rocking small children so that they calm down and fall asleep is quite widespread. Many moms and dads resort to motion sickness when a child begins to cry, be capricious, and behave too noisy and playful.
Unfortunately, motion sickness is not beneficial for a child. Many pediatricians believe that in the process of motion sickness, the vestibular apparatus of the baby is exposed to excessive stress, and in the future this may negatively affect the state of human health. In addition, a child who is accustomed to constant motion sickness and sitting in his arms may become naughty without receiving the desired portion of parental attention.
Therefore, sooner or later, the child should be weaned from motion sickness - then he will get used to the fact that parental attention can be received in other ways: through communication, play, singing foams or reading books. But in order to wean a small child from motion sickness, you will have to exert a lot of effort and show patience: usually the weaning process takes at least 2-3 weeks.
To put your child to bed without motion sickness, you must plan to go to bed no earlier than four hours after waking up. You can hold your baby in your arms before going to bed without rocking him. If the baby has dozed off in your arms, make sure that he fell asleep soundly enough, and only then put him in the crib. If the ritual of motion sickness is important and meaningful for a child, it is necessary to create a new ritual that could fully replace the traditional motion sickness before bedtime. For example, a lullaby or a short fairy tale may well become a new ritual. At the age of 8-11 months, children perceive verbal communication with their parents very well, therefore, it is best to introduce new rituals exactly when the child is 8-9 months old.
By the way, another effective way to wean a child from motion sickness is to switch attention to any object that he really likes (for example, a large soft toy). The child must understand that he can only get a toy when he is in his crib. When putting your child to bed, put a toy next to him and say good night. Such a maneuver may have to be done more than a dozen times before the child gets used to it. But later, he will fall asleep quickly and calmly, not needing your constant presence next to the crib.
