economicmultipliers_136

Economic Multipliers (136)

Do you know what these are?

They help CREATE wealth in systems.

Teaching all young people how to swaddle a baby could be an economic multiplier for families, communities and nations.

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A four-month-old baby died this past year of asphyxiation. The baby was recovering from fractured ribs and wouldn’t stop crying.

Babies cry when they are hungry.

Babies cry when they need to be changed.

Babies cry when they are hurting and/or teething.

Babies cry when they want to communicate something and/or need attention.

Babies cry to develop their lungs.

When a baby cries and it’s not hurt, hungry or in need of a change, it might need to be swaddled.

Swaddling a baby is simply wrapping a small blanket snugly (not tightly) around a baby in a very specific way so that they can feel safe. It’s also possible to wrap a towel or jacket around a small child and hold them snugly (not tightly … with no physical punishment or roughness before or after) if they need to calm down.

A snug wrap (see P.S.) doesn’t mean a baby or a small child will stop crying or acting out: They may or may not.

It represents time to reassure the child that everything is OK: They are protected and cared about and you are with them to help make their world better.

I doubt that the father (who is now in jail) ever learned how to swaddle a child. Did his parents or grandparents even know how?

What might have happened if that father had gently held and cried compassionately with or spoke soothingly to the child instead of needing silence?

Does the Common Core curriculum include baby swaddling?

If it doesn’t, will some other four-month-old baby first end up with fractured ribs and then ultimately lose its life because it cried out.

We can’t teach young people everything but most of them will at some point in their life have children or know others who do. There are some things we can’t miss when we educate youth.

And, recognize that if young people are taught a technique like this in school (perhaps as part of a life sciences class), the value is not in making sure they remember every little step. The value is in making sure they remember that the technique exists so they know where to look for the steps or who to ask when there is value in knowing how to do it.

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P.S. A baby should be able to move its legs and hips when swaddled to prevent longterm joint problems: Swaddling should not force a baby’s legs straight.

Protect your children and grandchildren and raise cool kids (and future parents) by practicing positive discipline techniques: A list compiled by Katherine Kersey (The 101 Positive Principles of Discipline) can be found in No. 122.

And, imagine the economic cost of a father in jail, a missing life, medical and social service responses, a funeral and family and community grief and recovery … possibly because a father never learned how to swaddle his child.