I'm babysitting for my friend's one year old today...?

Question

who did nothing but scream for literally 3 hours the last time i babysat him. what are some things i can do to make him stop? he's off his binky and eating baby food now, and he doesn't like being picked up.

oh, and whats the normal length of a nap? last time he slept for like 2 hours? was it because he was exhausted from screaming?? oh and another question: what do children of that age usually like to do? i know this is very vague and i should probably be asking my friend these questions (and i will when i get there) but i just want some outside advice as well

Answer 1

you should learn some methods for soothing a baby.  http://www.askdrsears.com/html/5/t051200... has a ton of tips and info.

ask your friend if you can take the baby out for a walk in the stroller.  that's a great way to get a baby to calm down and even get a baby to fall asleep.

2 hours seems like a fairly normal length for a nap.

Answer 2

That one thing that you said about him not liking to be picked up...really made me think.

Pick him up anyway. Baby's need to be held. It provides them security.

Trust me. Babies are not able to make that kind of decision on their own. They aren't equipped with enough of life's experiences to know whether they like to be held or not. The mother nurtures her child, and influences their lives by what she does during those critical formative years. Please pick him up and hold him close. Let him cry. That's what babies do. That's all they can do, really. Let them cry and cry and cry. You know they are not truly hurting.

I used to hold my daughter when she was tired and cranky and just bounce around the room  and from room to room and sing nonsense songs to her and jump from the couch to the coffee table to the floor to the chair and down the hallway to the bathroom mirror and spin and let her see herself crying and then jog to the bedroom and jump on the bed and back to the floor and back up the hallway to the den and jump on the couch and do it all over again, singing and humming and rhyming until she finally fell under the spell and crashed in my arms.

I know it's easier when it's your own child, but you must hold a baby.

Answer 3

He may be teething! Although he's on solids he may have more teeth coming in.  It's difficult to determine since you didn't provide his age. He could not be feeling well as also.

Answer 4

put him in his pushchair and take him to feed some ducks somewhere