Parenting Tip: Overstimulation

Something to keep in mind when you're playing with your babies is that they can get overstimulated very easily. And because they can't speak, they can't tell us, “I don't want to look at that rattle anymore. Stop shaking it in my face.”

They have to show us with cues. So, some of these cues that you can look for include; looking away, pushing away, having a mix of emotions, laughing, crying, laughing, crying, and hiding their face with their hands.

Something that we often do is we assume our baby is bored, so we try to stimulate the baby, shake a rattle in front of their face, or try to play peekaboo or sing a song into their face, which of course just exasperates the problem if the problem is that they're already overstimulated.

So what we would recommend you do instead is stay calm, use a soft voice, and give the baby some space. You can pick them up, hug them, and give them that sensory feedback of being hugged all around, almost like a swaddle kind of feeling. Make sure their face is in so they can take a little break from the stimulation that's outside of your body. Or you can even let them suck on something, which is also very calming and soothing for a baby. We just want you to keep this in your back pocket as one of the things to look for when your baby starts to get fussy. They could be tired, they could have a dirty diaper, they could be hungry, or they could be overstimulated.