Written by child occupational therapist Ann Helene Kristensen, owner of Baby Steps www.baby-steps.dk / @babystepsdk
The baby hammock can be used as long as you feel that your child needs to be rocked to fall asleep. Today there are also motors that can handle up to 15 kilos, and also cradles that have a good length. It is very different from child to child, how long they need to settle into sleep with the help of movement. Some children fall asleep quickly in bed, already as babies, other children reach over 1-2 years of age before they are really ready to let go of the movement.
It depends a lot on the child's nervous system, and the child's need for help in self-regulation of arousal. Arousal is a term that covers our wakefulness, and our ability to go from being relaxed and listening, for example, to jumping on the sofa and playing wild games. One of our tools to help the brain go from wild play to calm play, from crying to security or from awake to sleep is with the help of movement. The fixed slow rhythm of the swing cradle has a calming function and helps the brain to search for arousal.
Can my child sleep all naps in the hammock?
Some babies sleep best with all naps in the hammock, in motion, or where falling asleep is in motion, and then motionless until the sleep cycle ends and a new one begins. When we sleep, we give our brain the break it needs to process impressions. In the first months, the brain is immature and will need many breaks to process impressions. It is the brain that protects itself, and it is smart. The quality of sleep is therefore important for the quality of waking time. When we have good quality in our waking hours, it is easier to learn new skills.
Is the baby hammock good for my child's development?
The sling cradle can support your child's good development, as good sleep is a prerequisite for the brain to work and take in new impressions. During their development and life, most babies will need movement to find peace in their sleep. When your baby is well rested and you may have managed to have your break and drink a cup of hot coffee, sit with your eyes closed for a moment, or maybe you have danced to Barbie girl. Then both you and your baby are more ready to have fun and play on the floor. During the day, floor time is important, it is important that your child uses his body and gets to know it. When we play with our children, and our children play with different sensory tools, it stimulates their development. Both motor, but also sensory, this means concretely that the games we play with our children, they develop our children's brains. And as the brain and body are stimulated, the brain is saturated with all the good impressions, and this provides a good prerequisite for getting ready for sleep in the sling cradle. Good sleep provides a prerequisite for good waking hours with plenty of good stimuli, which in turn provides a prerequisite for good sleep.
