The VERY strange thing that stops this baby crying
For every new mum or dad, finding the magic solution that stops their baby crying is the Holy Grail of parenting.
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Some babies are instantly soothed by white noise eg from a washing machine, or being swaddled.
Some are calmed by traditional lullabies.
And some of us end up spending hour upon hour pacing the hallway, newborn in arms.
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But this dad has gone viral with his surprising solution to his baby daughter’s tears.
A BIG problem solved
The video on Facebook page The LAD Bible, which has been viewed a staggering 29 million times, shows the dad bouncing a distraught baby Rachel on his knee.
Then, saying, ‘this calms Rachel down when she’s upset,’ he hits the button on the hit Big Poppa, from the late rapper, Notorious BIG.
As Biggie starts to rap, Rachel instantly stops wailing as her dad tenderly wipes away her tears.
‘She can’t understand any of the lyrics yet, so we’re safe,’ he adds: a good job, given that the track is decidedly X-rated.
And to prove it’s not just a fluke, he then stops the music, and Rachel starts to howl again.
Who’d have guessed that a rapper would have such amazing baby-whispering powers?
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A load of rap?
Predictably, the video – which has been shared over 300,000 times – has divided opinion over whether Notorious BIG’s hits are suitable for tender ears.
On Facebook, one person commented:
‘Ha, ha, ha love it. Made me happy just watching this, love that daddy is enjoying time with his daughter.’
Another added:
‘Better music taste than 95% of the population as a baby.’
But others were horrified by the dad’s choice of ‘lullaby.’ One commented:
‘Nothing like calming your baby down like making them listen to violent lyrics. Let’s get em started early folks!!’
While another wrote:
‘I’d never do that, for God sake refresh the baby and put it gently down to sleep with a dummy, they need to feel safe, sound, comfy and well nourished. That is the most stupidest thing I have ever seen. I would scream too… This made me mad for some reason.’
Surprising soothers for bawling babies
This dad isn’t alone in finding an unexpected way to soothe a fractious baby.
In The Coffeehouse, Netmums users have been sharing their surprising baby-calming tricks. Naomi G wrote:
‘If my six-month-old cries, I gently pat his mouth so it sounds like an Indian war cry! It instantly stops him. Haha.’
FT commented that her go-to baby-calmer was:
‘A stupid cartoon on YouTube called the Duck Song. We have videoed our LB crying and stopping as soon as the Duck Song starts, then crying again when it stops. He’s one now and it’s still brilliant if he’s having a grizzle!’
And Karla C found her son responded to the power of advertising:
‘The Cilit Bang cleaner advert used to stop my DS crying when he was a baby. One time we rewinded [sic] it about 20 times because he started crying every time it stopped hahaha.’
What strange things have you found that help to calm your crying baby?
