There must be few people who do not know Eduard Estivill, author of the so-called Estivill method (which he did not invent, since it already existed a long time ago), which consists of letting children be alone in their room, crying or not, according to a table of times, so that in the end they get tired of crying, get tired of complaining and end up not calling their parents (and consequently sleeping alone).
Recently he released a new version of his book on the dream, which comes to update the previous one. The title of this new version is "To sleep!" (Exclamation marks seem to have a lot of meaning here) and, on the occasion of the presentation of this book, Estivill offered her wisdom to the media, releasing pearls like the one in which she says that Children who don't know how to sleep alone do it because of their parents, because they, inside the belly, already sleep alone.
The fetuses sleep inside the belly
As he says, a novelty that he presents about fetuses is that they are now known to sleep in the belly. I don't know when was the first time I heard this, but sincerely, many years ago. When they move and kick, they may be awake or asleep and, when they are calm, they sleep.
There is no mother or father to take them in their arms, there is no mother or father to cradle and sing to them, so it follows that they sleep alone. Floating in amniotic fluid, I don't know if they cry or not, that I doubt it a lot because there will be little baby to cry in there, so the most logical thing is that they fall asleep without saying anything (it doesn't make much sense to try to talk or cry in a liquid medium ... who will hear you?).
In any case, and this is a novelty, It's the first time I've heard that a fetus inside his mother's belly is alone. As far as my short mind goes, if a fetus is inside a woman's womb, it is with her. In a way they are two bodies in one, one feeds the other, one carries it, rocks it, cradles it, gives it food, heat and protection. Everything tastes like mom, everything sounds like mom (mom's heart, her intestines, her voice ...) and, in short: he will never be more accompanied by mom than when he is inside her.
From there to say that he sleeps alone ...
Most parents try to sleep alone
Mr. Estivill says that we are the parents who, taking them when he does not play, carrying them in their arms, singing and rocking them and breastfeeding them (and all those crazy things that fathers and mothers do, gang of fools), we teach them to need us to sleep .
However, myself, who is the first to write two entries with a lot of reasons to explain that carrying children in my arms is good, I have tried to get my three children to sleep for good in a bassinet, in the stroller or in Bed with us, but without our help. I tried and hey, there was no way. The first few days, it still sneaks a little, but then, when they grow up and are able to say with their cries: "until I feel safe I don't fall asleep," because they don't.
Then, as they cry, then you take them to a) not to wake their siblings, b) to fall asleep again as soon as possible and c) take advantage of the fact that I have two arms and an incredible ability to calm babies at the rate of reggae (wasting this would be an insult to my gift). In other words, you take them because they cry ... they don't cry because you take them to sleep.
What hobby with the spoon, by God
Explain in the 21st century that letting a baby or child cry alone in his room, until he vomits and everything, is for his sake is a very delicate matter (you play the type, come on). For this reason we have to look for similar examples with which to justify ourselves and, apparently, that of the child who learns to eat with a spoon is the best he has, because I have heard it countless times and because I also heard it in a pediatric postgraduate I did a few years ago, when a lady who had worked with this man gave us the same example of the spoon.
As they comment (they commented and they will comment), eating soup with a spoon is a habit we should teach our children. At first they do it wrong and, thanks to us, better and better. If a child eats fatally with the spoon, the fault lies with the parents. So parents should insist that they learn to eat with the spoon and, hey, in the end everyone ends up eating well, and the best: no child is traumatized by eating with a spoon!
But let's see, candid soul, why the hell would a child be traumatized for not knowing how to use a spoon? They take it and take the food to their mouths. When they are small, they suck metal (or plastic), because the twist of the wrist causes the content to fall. That does not make you cry, that is surprising. So they try until they get tired and take it with their hands. Then, over time, they themselves learn, without anyone teaching them.
I, at least me, I have not taught my children to eat with a spoon. In fact, it would be hard for me to know how to teach to eat with a spoon ("put your hand like this", "no, not like that, look, look, like this", "the less extended wrist", "don't turn your arm" ...), Come on, they themselves realize that if they want to eat the spoon, it is better not to lose sight of the content while you bring it to your mouth.
Then I remember the children when they walk. I didn't teach them to walk either and they learned alone. Without going further, I never taught them to sleep and both the older and the medium sleep alone and do it all night long. Isn't it that this man pretends that babies of a few months sleep as children of several years?
PS: Thanks to anamare for the hint.
