9 ways to cheer up your baby

Common causes of bad mood in young children

The older the child, the more subtly parents feel all the changes that happen to him. And they can determine the reasons for his bad mood. But when babies are sad or crying, it is difficult to immediately understand what happened. Typically, changes in mood can be caused by the following factors:

• physiological causes – hunger, physical discomfort, lack of sleep, malaise;
• emotional background in the family – children are very sensitive to the emotions of the people who surround them;
• age crises – the most acute and violent are crises of 1 and 3 years;
• inability to manage emotions – this is not always subject to even adults, and even kids definitely still do not know how to control and even be aware of their feelings;
• lack of attention – crying, demonstrative silence, and refusal of everything, aggression may be the child’s attempts to attract attention to himself.

To prevent the child from getting used to getting your attention in “bad” ways, give him enough time, hug, talk and play with him when he is calm and pleased. For newborns, there is a rule – to pick up and put off only when the baby is in a good mood.

What methods of encouragement are not suitable

Often parents hear that the best way to distract the baby from tears or whims is to switch his attention to something else. But the “classic” phrase “Look, look, the bird is flying!” is not suitable in all cases. It is effective for one-time episodes of a bad mood in an infant, but sooner or later it stops working. The child, growing up, no longer reacts to birds and cats, and can often burst into tears even more when he hears this phrase. In addition, it does not solve the problem of a bad mood and does not change it to a good one, but simply distracts. Therefore, it should be used in the most extreme cases.

Other methods that work poorly or are completely harmful:

1. Ignoring – in some cases, you can really “wait it out”, and the baby will have fun again. But this method is only suitable for older children who already know how to control their emotions a little. Infants, on the other hand, cannot cope with negative feelings without the help of adults.
2. A gift – many parents try to “appease” the baby and cheer him up by buying a new toy or sweet. This leads to dependence on gifts, the child learns to manipulate, begging and “crying out” for them.
3. Moral teachings – a child’s bad mood does not at all indicate his spoiledness. In addition, you can not scold kids for the emotions they experience. This leads to the underdevelopment of emotional intelligence and problems in adulthood.

Instead of scolding the child for “bad” emotions, allow him to express them fully. Ask him to mourn with all his might, cry out all the tears, scream and blow off steam. A playful form will give these activities not only psychological benefits, but also cheer up the baby.

What to do to cheer up a child

In the case when you need to cheer up the baby, you can not do without a sense of humor and ingenuity. The more humorous and playful ways parents have in their piggy bank, the better.

The universal method is the game. It is suitable for both the smallest and older children. For example, babies are happy to support the game of “coo-coo” when mom or dad hides behind the crib, under the diaper, or simply covers their face with their palms, and then appears with a smile. And children from six months will definitely be distracted and amused by soap bubbles.

Depending on the cause of a bad mood, the following methods will help:

1. Embrace. It sounds a little trite, but hugs really help children cope with sadness, stress, or a bad mood. Just hug your baby and don’t let go until he starts smiling. To speed up the process, you can tickle or kiss the child, “menacingly” promising to eat any part of his body.
2. Fresh air. Sometimes, in order for the child to have fun, it is enough to be with him in the fresh air. If he is sad at home, then just get dressed and go out for a walk. As a rule, even a 15-minute walk around the house is enough. If the weather does not allow this, then at least open the windows, ventilate the apartment, or go out with the child to the balcony. It is also useful to open the windows while traveling by car, and you can also offer the baby to “blow out” a bad mood into the street.
3. Communication. Often, small children see only their mother for days on end. Yes, for them this is the closest and most beloved person, but the monotony causes a bad mood. Invite relatives, acquaintances from the playground, neighborhood kids to visit, or go with your child to a place where you can chat with other children.
4. Antics. While the baby is still very young, you can cheer him up by showing funny faces and making funny sounds. Invite older children to fool around a little and make faces together. You can do this in front of a mirror or shoot on your phone, and then laugh together again, looking at the resulting photo or video.
5. Puppet show. Use your son’s or daughter’s favorite toys to act out a skit or mini-show. For example, a teddy bear may “come” to visit you to drive away tears or bring smiles. Turn on your imagination and invite your child to participate in this small performance.
6. Music. Clockwork melodies can work wonders even in the saddest moment. Turn on a funny song, sing something yourself, or invite the kid to be a musician – arrange an impromptu concert from improvised “musical” instruments. Play with pot lids, books, or dice.
7. Favorite food. You can encourage the child with the help of his favorite dishes. And it is better to cook them together. Even if the baby does not know how to cook yet, you can have fun – make a funny face out of pasta, “draw” eyes from berries or jam on the porridge, or make a cocktail of cookies and cocoa.
8. Pleasant words. If the baby is sad because something is not working out for him, cheer him up with praise. Point out what he does well, how he tries, or joke that he frowned beautifully while he was sad. Any nice words spoken from the heart will certainly cheer you up and give you confidence in your child.
9. Recognition of emotions. Never devalue children’s feelings and do not tell children: “Why are you sad ?! Found something to pout about! It doesn’t matter.” The child has the right to any emotions, and you must tell him about it. Help him recognize and acknowledge his feelings. To the smallest, just voice what they are experiencing at the moment. And with children 1-3 years old, you can draw or blind sadness, bad mood, or resentment.

Tactile types of creativity – modeling, applications, drawing help to develop emotional intelligence and sensitivity. It is best to use different materials – cereals, sand, dough, plasticine or plain water.

Bad mood happens to everyone – both adults and children. But you can always find a way to change it for a good one that suits your child. Don’t be afraid to be funny, fool around, or turn into actors. In a playful and playful way, you can show your baby that having fun is much more interesting than being sad or offended!