Rock-a-Bye Baby by Penny Warner Read Free Book Online Page A

Relax and keep your focus on the big picture. Soon your baby will outgrow this problem and be into something else. Before you know it, your baby will be all grown up! In the meantime—here’s the most important tip of all: Enjoy your baby!

Chapter 6

Treasured Tips from Other Cultures

    â€œOh sleep! It is a gentle thing, Beloved from pole to pole.”
    â€”Samuel Taylor Coleridge
    When babies around the world begin to talk, they speak different languages, but when they won’t go to sleep, it’s the exact same problem worldwide. While many techniques are the same everywhere, such as rocking and singing to baby, many cultures also have their own special tricks and different approaches to sleep. Learn what parents around the globe do to get their babies to sleep—and try a couple of these techniques in your own home.
India
    Parents play Indian CDs—everything from Bollywood hits to sitar songs—on low volume and sing along to help their babies go to sleep. Invest in some international music to play for your baby. Some parents turn traditional folktales into songs and sing them to their babies. Follow their lead and sing
Goodnight Moon
or
The Night Before Christmas
.
    Another technique used in India is a swing on a string. Parents attach a string to a small rocking bed and pull it from a distance while humming a special tune called a
lorrie
.
    In India, the Ayurvedic culture believes that the combination of the body, mind, and soul work together to prevent health problems. One method mothers use is massage on their baby’s tummies with a ball of dough coated with a little almond oil and turmeric, to help baby’s digestion and calm him to sleep.

    GLOBAL BEATS
    Check out these CDs, which are specially designed to get baby to sleep in any language
.
    World Music for Little Ears
by Ellipsis Arts
    World of Love: Authentic Lullabies from
    Around the World
by Ellipsis Arts
    The Planet Sleeps
by Sony
    Latin Lullaby
by Ellipsis Arts
    Mother Earth Lullaby
by Ellipsis Arts
    African Lullaby
by Ellipsis Arts
    Celtic Lullaby
by Ellipsis Arts
    SAY “GOOD NIGHT” SEVENTEEN MORE TIMES
    Chinese:
Jóutáu
    Czech:
Dobrou noc
    Danish:
God nat
    French:
Bonne nuit
    Gaelic:
Oíche mhaith
    German:
Gute nacht
    Greek:
Kaliníhta
    Hebrew:
Aila tov
    Indonesian:
Selamat malam
    Italian:
Buonanotte
    Japanese:
Oyasumi
    Portuguese:
Boa noite
    Russian:
Spokojnoj noči
    Spanish:
Buenas noches
    Swahili:
Lala salama
    Swedish:
God natt
    Welsh:
Nos da
Iran
    Parents often give their babies oil baths to relax them. Just add a little baby oil to the bathwater and massage him with the oily water.
    Another popular technique is a leg cradle. The parent stretches out on the floor or couch, sets a pillow on top of her legs, places the baby on the pillow, and rocks her legs back and forth.

Algeria
    Mothers wrap their babies in towels and tie them to their backs, then walk around doing their chores while humming. (Just be sure the towel is secure, so the baby won’t fall out!)

Scotland
    The Scots mix a little oatmeal gruel with honey to get Baby to sleep. ( NOTE :
Today it’s not recommended that children under the age of one have honey, because of the risk for botulism. So if you want to try this one, use oatmeal without the honey, or add a hint of sugar if you must
.)

The Balkans
    Parents offer their babies buttermilk half an hour before bedtime to soothe their tummies for sleep.

China
    In Chinese culture, parents pat their babies’ backs and repeat the soothing sound “oho”softly.
    Some parents put their babies in a cart called a
yaoche
, hold one end, and gently shake it.
    Other mothers place their babies on their outstretched legs and rock the legs back and forth.
    Chinese parents chop ginseng and orange peel, mix them with honey, and feed the mixture to baby to get her to sleep. ( NOTE :
Today it’s not recommended that children under the age of one have honey, because of the risk