I'm wondering if exposure to the outdoors might provide crying babies with sensory stimulation that indoor settings are void of. I, for one, know that every child I work with responds immediately to even looking out a window, let alone going outside, when they are upset.
In response to Pamela, I conducted research focused on understanding how and why middle school teachers integrate place-based education into their curriculum, for my Masters in Education. My research revealed that social interactions are heightened when children are exposed to other environments than their classroom or school building. With heightened and often improved social interactions, between students, came an increase in student self-worth and empowerment. Teachers recognized that taking students outside the classroom, and school, was enough of a change to their routine, that the students were more engaged with each other, on a positive note.
I haven't searched for research to support my this idea, but I'd guess that by building and maintaining relationships, at any age, feelings of safety and acceptance occurs, which I personally feel results in feelings of calmness. I've attached a paper by David Sobel, a passionate proponent of place-based education, and one of my professors during my masters work, that expresses the need for time outdoors, every day.
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Mary Russell
Journeys Out Yonder
Boulder CO
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Original Message:
Sent: 05-22-2017 01:54 PM
From: Pamela Ehrenberg
Subject: Infant crying much of the day
Hi,
This is an area of personal interest, not professional expertise, for me, but your observation that increased stimulation (via change of scenery) seems to calm the baby made me think about research I've seen around indicators of giftedness in young children. I would love to hear from others with expertise in this area--in the meantime, regardless of whether this particular baby turns out to be gifted, it sounds like your team's instincts have led to a helpful solution to build on. Good wishes to all!
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Pamela Ehrenberg
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Original Message:
Sent: 05-22-2017 01:02 PM
From: Yvonne Hiebert
Subject: Infant crying much of the day
I second the recommendations of the other contributors. It's important to rule out medical, neurological, or other developmental issues. There might be underlying sensory or other issues. The Period of Purple Crying is an excellent resource as is the All Babies Cry website. I'm curious about Mom's comment that her son is spoiled, and I wonder if she has had difficulty reading his cues. It sounds like she might not have known how to soothe her little guy and used feeding as a way to calm him. What do you know about Mom's pregnancy and/or the birth history and/or how things went in the early weeks at home? That information could provide clues about how the crying and the parent response began. Maybe the baby and his parents developed some patterns of relating that aren't serving them well. There might be folks in your area who are trained specifically in early relationship challenges who could support the family if the crying doesn't begin to diminish soon. There might not be a "quick fix".
Here are links to some other resources that might be helpful for the baby's parents and/or the staff:
CECMHC | Infant Toddler Temperament Tool (provides a way for parents to look at how their temperament and their baby's are the same/different and offers suggestions that support "goodness of fit")
Early Development & Well-Being (This is a link to the Zero to Three website, which has excellent resources/information about development during the first three years, including information related to social-emotional development, temperament, self-regulation, etc)
NJ-AIMH | New Jersey Association for Infant Mental Health (Folks in the field of infant and early childhood mental health come from a wide range of disciplines and can offer resources and support to parents and to staff around early relationships and social-emotional development)
Have the baby's parents tried infant massage? It might not make the crying go away completely, but it could offer them a different way to relate and connect with him. If they're interested, here's a link to possible instructors in NJ: Infant Massage USA - Find an Infant Massage Class
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Yvonne Hiebert, MSE, CEIM, IMH-E®
Wisconsin
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Original Message:
Sent: 05-21-2017 04:31 PM
From: Joan Dillon
Subject: Infant crying much of the day
We have a 6 month old baby who cries most of the day unless he is being held. We have had success with some portions of the day where he is in different environments, different things and people to look at and with whom to interact but they are very short periods of time. When mom enrolled him she told us "he's spoiled and you can't put him down" and we have tried to encourage her to try to do so at home like we do, but we aren't sure this is happening. He is very big (overweight) and consequently a little harder to hold for periods of time. We try to cuddle him, and check all of the usual physical culprits (hungry, wet diaper, restrictive clothing) but he is still crying to tell us something. His doctor visits (physicals at 3 months and 6 months) indicate no "concerns" or special instructions. Mom's instructions for feeding were more than we typically feed a baby and communication took care of that (she was even placing stage 1 bananas in his bottle and presented a doctor's note for us to do the same - ??) so we've gotten him on a more normal/expected feeding schedule. Looking for strategies to help with the crying, staff frustration that they cannot soothe him, and they feel they are being "judged" by anyone who comes into or near the infant room because he cries so frequently. I know they are doing the best they can but I am looking for ways to support them more.
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Joan Dillon
Executive Director
Glassboro NJ
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