Swinging back and forth can be harmful to a child's brain.

The shaking and rocking motions used when rocking or cuddling a baby, or the premature exercise routines many parents introduce to their babies, can wreak havoc on their nervous system and overall health.

Dangerous games

First is the "tossing and turning" game. The parent lets the child sit on their feet, holding the child's hands. As the parent tosses and turns their feet, the child feels like they're riding a horse, their vision constantly changing, making them very happy and giggle... For the tossing game, parents usually lift the child high, then release them, and then catch them again. For safety, parents should play this game on a bed or mattress and with a very short release and catch.

Newborns have weak necks and cannot support their heads, so adults must support their heads when carrying them. Everyone knows this and takes great care, but after babies start crawling and can lift their heads, parents often assume the dangerous period is over. Therefore, the period from seven months to two years old is when babies are most susceptible to injury, because their brains are developing rapidly but their skulls are not yet strong enough.

According to Dr. Nguyen Cong Vien from the Alain Carpentier International Clinic (CMI), many studies have been conducted in various countries on the injuries caused by excessive rocking of infants, known as shaken baby syndrome. These may be unintentional "games" played by adults and could even be considered "child abuse."

The baby might be tossed around like a ball. The most dangerous and common method is holding the baby upright and swinging them violently back and forth. Just five seconds of strong shaking is enough to cause brain injury. The second organ directly affected is the eyeball.

The brain is the command center for all activities, including the visual nerves and language center. Brain damage can occur immediately, but it can also be detected only at age five or six, resulting in symptoms such as blurred vision, blindness, epilepsy, intellectual disability, and weakness or paralysis of the limbs.

The dangerous game of juggling can also cause sprains (broken arms, dislocations, sprains, etc.) due to the child's weight. In addition, during the juggling process, children can suffer unforeseen accidents (there have been cases of children being struck by a fan, resulting in a fractured skull).

Swinging the hammock too forcefully

Many families use hammocks for their babies to sleep in because, no matter how fussy or how intensely a baby cries, putting them in a hammock will soothe them. The more the baby cries, the more vigorously and quickly the person rocking the hammock rocks, causing the baby to fall asleep. However, sleeping in fear will result in restless and disturbed sleep for the baby.

A young mother confided: "My baby has trouble sleeping, crying terribly, and every time she falls asleep I have to rock her vigorously in the hammock... but recently she's been startling awake, flailing her arms, and becoming increasingly irritable..." Sleeping in fear, having shallow sleep, and experiencing many nightmares will, in the long run, affect a child's development.

Dr. Tran Duy Tam from the Ho Chi Minh City Psychiatric Hospital said: "Children lying in hammocks are often propped up with pillows on either side to prevent falls. Many families add a horizontal bar above the hammock, preventing the child from moving their head. Meanwhile, the baby's skull is soft and easily dented or flattened, affecting brain development."

Do exercise

Hoping for their babies to grow strong and healthy, parents often eagerly encourage them to exercise, such as pulling their arms or making them lift their heads. However, babies under one year old have heavy heads and weak necks, and these movements can cause neck injuries. In reality, no exercise is necessary.

According to normal developmental patterns, from three months of age onwards, a baby's neck will be strong enough to support their head. By four months, babies begin to roll over. When lying on their stomach, they will lift their heads off the surface; this is an exercise they must do themselves, and these movements help use the muscles in their shoulders, arms, and neck.

Dr. Nguyen Cong Vien also stated: Some babies are born with torticollis on one side. Most babies with this condition will gradually recover on their own after a few months, especially after they learn to roll over and lift their heads. Physical therapy can help speed up the natural recovery process...

According to Women Online – NT