Coping With Crying In Public

Whether you’re out for lunch or at the supermarket, you’ll need a few tricks up your sleeve for baby meltdowns

Hearing your baby cry is always stressful, but never more so than when you’re out in a public place – it can feel that you’re skills as a mother are suddenly under question.

Use A Dummy

If you’re someone who can’t stand the idea of your baby crying on the bus or in a crowded place, you might want to try a dummy. It won’t prevent crying completely, but it can soothe a baby who’s finding it hard to drop off or is feeling cranky.

Remind Yourself Nothing’s Wrong

So you can stay calm yourself, do a mental checklist of what could be up – is your baby hungry, tired, or is his nappy wet. Does he feel hot or seem off colour? If not, he’s probably just having a cranky moment (we all have them), so don’t feel like you’re a bad mum.

Find Your Baby’s Off Button

This isn’t some mythical concept, but actually most newborns and young babies have a certain position that calms them. The trick is to find it. For a colicky baby, for example, it’s often holding them so that their stomach lies flat along your arm, which puts pressure on a sore tummy.

Keep Calm And Carry On

There are times – for example, if you know your baby’s just hungry and you’re five minutes away from home – when it really is best to take a deep breathe and carry on. The other time when this can be true is if you know your baby’s tired and  about to fall asleep (but is screaming the place down until then). Picking him up for a cuddle will only delay the inevitable moment when he finally crashes out.

Pick Him Up

If you’re rushing through the supermarket aisles while your baby wails, your stress levels can go through the roof, not to mention the weird food you end up buying when you can’t focus properly. Sometimes it’s just not worth soldiering on. If there’s no time pressure, take a pause, pick your baby up and settle him – you could even head to the supermarket café to feed him.