Being small is a lot of work. From the very first days after birth, the crumbs actively learn the world, assimilate a lot of new information every day, get impressions and get incredibly tired of this. The task of adults is to help kids relax and have a good rest.
There are many ways to make life easier for excitable, active children, as well as their parents, but today I would like to dwell on one of them in more detail - soothing baths. Almost all children love to swim. So why not turn your usual hygiene routine into a pleasant ritual with a healing effect?
What are they for?
Soothing baths help babies to relax faster, relieve muscle clamps, normalize sleep, have a beneficial effect on the state of the nervous system and have general strengthening properties. Some formulations have an antiseptic effect.
How do they work?
The skin of children is known to be very sensitive. Therefore, contact with special compounds used to prepare soothing baths will resemble "information exchange". The skin of the crumbs will “give away” all pathogenic factors, including accumulated toxins, and “take” useful substances that will quickly spread throughout the body.
Who are they intended for?
Soothing baths can be taken both by infants and crumbs up to a year... These procedures will be especially useful for children aged 2-3 years, when babies become excitable during the first age crisis. Soothing baths for sound sleep and general relaxation are also beneficial for primary school children.
Varieties
Soothing baths are most often made with the addition of herbal "healers" - lavender, chamomile, pine needles, lemon balm, St. John's wort. An important condition is that more than four types of plants cannot be mixed in one session.
Often, to deter parents from crazy experiments on mixing herbal remedies, doctors recommend universal recipes:
- Relaxing bath. Take ready-made sedative collection No. 2, motherwort and knotweed. All ingredients are sold in any pharmacy and are inexpensive. For 10 liters of prepared bathing water, take 3 tablespoons of the finished herbal mixture, pour boiling water (about 400-500 grams). It takes about 40 minutes to infuse the product. Strain and add to the bath. The baby should take it within a quarter of an hour. Repeat the procedure every other day. The general course is a month.
- "Sleepy" bath. The proportions for 10 liters of finished water are as follows: 50-60 grams of calendula flowers, mint and oregano. Pour all the herbs with 2 liters of boiling water and leave for half an hour. Strain before adding to the bath. Take 15 minutes three times a week. The general course is two weeks.
- Fortifying bath... This is a pine bath, which perfectly helps babies not only to recuperate after an illness, but also normalizes sleep and soothes. 10 liters of water will require 50 grams of needles, which must be filled with 2 liters of boiling water. After 45 minutes of infusion, the product is added to the bath. Take 10 minutes half an hour before going to bed. Recommended no more than three times a week. General course - 2 weeks.
Baths based on pharmacy chamomile and succession cleanse the baby's skin well, this will benefit crumbs suffering from diathesis... Motherwort and lavender baths have a sedative effect and are ideal for hyperactive toddlers.
You need to be careful with Valerian - no more than 10 drops of ready-made valerian infusion can be added to the water in which the child bathes. This will help avoid allergic reactions to valerian. St. John's wort baths effectively soothe and "lull" children with sleep disorders.
Baths with sea salt are also useful, only they require only natural salt, without perfume dyes and fragrances. Chemical additives can be very dangerous for the delicate skin of an infant.
Baths with essential oils have a positive effect on the child's respiratory system. But avoid essential oils of exotic origin (orange, mandarin, ylang-ylang, sandalwood) - they are allergenic. It is better to opt for essential oils of medicinal plants that grow in your natural strip.
Contraindications
Children should not take soothing baths:
- Allergic to herbs and plants.
- With severe disorders of the nervous system (if officially established by a neurologist).
- With increased body temperature in case of illness.
Important Tips
- Before deciding to start procedures, consult your pediatrician. If he does not find contraindications, then you can go to the pharmacy.
- When a decoction of medicinal herbs is ready, it must be tested for susceptibility by a child. Apply a few drops of broth to a small area of the skin of the crumbs. If within half an hour there is no redness, itching, rash, swelling, you can take a bath.
- Remember that the optimal water temperature in the baby bath should be within + 37 degrees Celsius. In hotter water, healing substances and essential oils will quickly disintegrate, in colder water, they will not be able to reveal all their capabilities.
- For everyday bathing, relaxing and soothing herbal baths are not suitable. To splash around every day, you can use baby bath foam with a soothing effect “Affectionate Mom” or “Eared Nanny”. The first version contains lavender, the second contains chamomile.
- Adult relaxation bath products (also available at the pharmacy) are not suitable for babies! They can contain both natural and unnatural components that will negatively affect the condition of the child's skin and can cause complications from the respiratory system.
- You will not immediately notice the positive effects of soothing baby baths. No wonder they are assigned to a course admission. The fact is that some plant substances have a cumulative effect, so it is important to follow the full course of procedures.
It is advisable to combine taking soothing baths with playing in the bathtub by age. This, according to psychologists, provides a double effect: game therapy gives additional relaxation, as the child throws out all the experiences and emotions. For the smallest, you can use sets of rubber ducks, for children, larger ones, wind-up toys floating in the bath.
