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Does rocking your baby to sleep set up a bad habit that can be hard to break?


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  • Honestly each child is different and sometimes you just need to do whatever works at the time to get through. I guarantee you won’t still be rocking them to sleep at 13 ;) They are only little for so long and as hard as it can be at the time one day you will look back and miss all the baby cuddles…


  • I say do whatever works for you


  • oh yeah and it creates a rod for your back


  • I think it can become a bad habit but each baby is different. We struggled to get our baby to sleep from 7pm for a couple of weeks and would end up rocking her to sleep. This went on and on until I told my husband that we couldn’t do this anymore. It took about 2 weeks but she finally was able to self settle at 7pm for her bedtime.


  • Everyone is different but I believe it does become a bad habbit to break. As is putting them in the car to sleep, patting them to sleep etc. I found the best way to get bub to sleep was to create a routine. Not too complicated so they baby knows what to expect. Eg. Bath, bottle then Bed.


  • I have found rocking babies to be soothing and fine. The transition to bed is easy and no problems. Some babies just need that kind of soothing. They are such adorable individuals with different needs. :)


  • It can also be an issue if you pat them until they go to sleep too.
    Grandma did that with my baby brother when she was staying with us. She had Glaucoma, was almost blind and thought she was helping. When she went home Mum had to gradually break the habit. With me with continuous chronic tonsilitis and my Dad who constantly suffered from migraines and debilitating arthritis it was difficult to attend to all three at the same time. By the end of the day sometimes she was almost at collapsing point. By my 7th birthday my tonsilitis was poisoning my bloodstream.


  • It can with my first i rocket to sleep and he is now 6 and has issues falling and staying asleep, with my following two kids i held and rocket them till their eyes started to flutter in the sleepy way and put them to bed. Neither one of them now 4 and 2 have sleep issues and mostly sleep thorugh the night.


  • I rocked both my little ones, but once they transitioned to their “big bed” neither had a problem.


  • In my experience no.
    as long as you dont actually sleep with them or in bed with them, holding them until the are asleep and putting them in the cot is just a simple easy way to soothe a baby to sleep.


  • I never rocked my daughter and she’s always been a great sleeper.

    I still rock my son (he’s 12months) and he does “need it”. At this age I could put my daughter in her cot and off to sleep she’d go. With my son, he can’t sleep unless he’s rocked.

    I’ve tried to get him out of it and he’s pretty easy going so will settle for a “pat” while he’s in the cot, but in the end I keep going back to it cause I know I’m not going to have any more kids and I enjoy that time alone with him so much. Him and me…quiet, nice cuddles. As he gets older I’ll move him out of it, but for now I love it – and it’s such a short time in their life that they really want things like that.

    If you want to do it but don’t want to stand and rock, get your baby used to just a little rocking while you sit on the floor up against the wall. No stress on your back and the rocking motion is not too overboard. I add the pat on the bottom too – so when I do revert to transitioning into just patting him while he’s in the bed, he’ll be somewhat used to that feeling getting him to sleep.


  • I find it a bad habit that they rely on and NEED to get to sleep which can be hard to get them out of as they get older but still your choice and do what feels right for you.


  • Each baby is different and each baby needs soothing in different ways. When children are ill it can been soothing for a baby to be gently rocked.


  • I believe so. I never did with my daughter, but started to with my son and he soon got used to it. It took me a few weeks to start settling him without rocking. I refused to do it after that.


  • Unless a child Is sick They dont Need to be rocked. Put them to bed at a certain time


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