Effective rocking bed for a child

[Loredana03]

TL;DR Summary

I would like to create a rocking bed that mimics the rocking motion of my legs

Hello everyone! I'm a mum and for a while now my child who is getting older has this habit of using me as a rocker (she sleeps on the pillow while I rock her on my legs) . I used to have the exact same habit so I kind of get her My question is : can I swap these tired legs of mine for an automayic rocking bed thay can simulate that type of rocking? (Left<->right) and be a bit faster. Was thinking to add a motor to a sort of curved wooden plate. Need anything else? What's the process? Thanks!

 

[Baluncore]

Welcome to PF.

Many solutions in the form of rocking cradles or cribs have been made. The possibilities are endless. There are too many solutions.

What cradle or crib do you now use?
Can it be modified to rock at the required rate?
The driving mechanism selected, will need to operate quietly.

Google 'rocking cradle for baby' to see simple commercial solutions.

 

[berkeman]

Welcome to PF.

Was thinking to add a motor to a sort of curved wooden plate. Need anything else?

Have you looked into how other rocking cradle mechanisms work? That seems like a good place to start.

 

[sophiecentaur]

TL;DR Summary: I would like to create a rocking bed that mimics the rocking motion of my legs

Was thinking to add a motor to a sort of curved wooden plate.

Are you planning a DIY solution? Do you have skills and equipment. This is a non-trivial project.

I remember organising a similar sort of device as a demo on a TV 'Science' programme. They used a rocking cradle ( borrowed for free because the broadcaster is a excellent scrounger) and an old washing machine motor / gearbox / crank. It looked fine for about two minutes on the show and was fairly gentle. But I wouldn't have even considered putting and leaving one of my kids in it overnight. The idea is frankly scary without taking months of design and trials. the child would be of school age before a safe and suitable model emerged.

Have you looked at what's available on the market? There are things available for about 100GBP, so I found. Money well spent imo.

 

[Loredana03]

Are you planning a DIY solution? Do you have skills and equipment. This is a non-trivial project.

I remember organising a similar sort of device as a demo on a TV 'Science' programme. They used a rocking cradle ( borrowed for free because the broadcaster is a excellent scrounger) and an old washing machine motor / gearbox / crank. It looked fine for about two minutes on the show and was fairly gentle. But I wouldn't have even considered putting and leaving one of my kids in it overnight. The idea is frankly scary without taking months of design and trials. the child would be of school age before a safe and suitable model emerged.

Have you looked at what's available on the market? There are things available for about 100GBP, so I found. Money well spent imo.

Hello!
The rocking cradles on the market are not strong enough for my child (she is 3) and very slow. Also,I would need something that imitates the motion of my legs when rocking from left to right. I know it's alot to ask...The rocking is quite fast that's why I don't know what to use. For babies those on the market are fine but for older children ,no...

 

[Loredana03]

Welcome to PF.

Many solutions in the form of rocking cradles or cribs have been made. The possibilities are endless. There are too many solutions.

What cradle or crib do you now use?
Can it be modified to rock at the required rate?
The driving mechanism selected, will need to operate quietly.

Google 'rocking cradle for baby' to see simple commercial solutions.

Hey! I'm not using any rocking cradle just my legs and a pillow. So I would like to make something that imitates that. My child is 3 so I need something pretty strong and with a fast rocking motion. She always falls asleep like that. I have looked at other mechanisms but I couldn't find anything that resembles my idea...

 

[Flyboy]

So, what axes of movement are you dealing with? You mentioned side to side, but is there any rolling motion?

 

[Baluncore]

Two side poles, like a stretcher, with a dip in the middle. Maybe with the right non-rigid suspension frame, she can be rocked, or she can rock herself to sleep.
Now, if you had a hammock, and lived on a small boat...

What would the rocking rate be?
It needs to be a resonant structure, to be low power and quiet.

 

[sophiecentaur]

@Loredana03 If you look at how a rocking cradle moves, i'd suggest that what you want may not be that motion. I've tried to imagine what you describe and I think the movemnent on your child on your legs is not a rocking motion but a lateral oscillation. A rocking cradle is a design based on past possibilities so an alternative could well be better.

She always falls asleep like that. I have looked at other mechanisms but I couldn't find anything that resembles my idea..

I imagine you have a 'perfect' solution in your head but you will need to be more specific about what your child's needs are.

So, what axes of movement are you dealing with? You mentioned side to side, but is there any rolling motion?

Anything you build must address those questions and have some quantitative answers.
1. How long / wide / deep does the cot need to be? Start with a suitable cot that holds her comfortably. I would imagine that 'swinging' (suspended at the top`) would be better than 'rocking' (which tilts outwards and has an axis underneath)

2. How heavy is she? How active is she? (Affects how stout and heavy the mechanism needs to be)
3. How much lateral motion would you need? Measure the movements of your legs
4. What range of oscillation rates (e.g. rocks per minute) do you need?

To make it go, you would need a motor / gearbox and speed control and a way to link it to the bottom of the basket.

A lot of serious engineering questions here and all need addressing.

Your information, so far seems to imply some special needs requirements so do you already have contacts in that branch of your local services? It may be worth looking in that direction before going too far along Physics Forums lines. PF is full of very handy enthusiasts for whom DIY jobs are no trouble and PF advice is often angled that way. It tends not to be universally applicable.

 

[berkeman]

my child (she is 3)

That's probably old enough to just string up a small hammock. That way she can rock herself at her own pace.

 

[sophiecentaur]

That's probably old enough to just string up a small hammock. That way she can rock herself at her own pace.

That’s just the sort of thing I meant about PF members. (We can’t help it. )

 

[Lnewqban]

Hey! I'm not using any rocking cradle just my legs and a pillow. So I would like to make something that imitates that. My child is 3 so I need something pretty strong and with a fast rocking motion. She always falls asleep like that. I have looked at other mechanisms but I couldn't find anything that resembles my idea...

Welcome, @Loredana03 !

Do you have a bed or platform to replace your legs with?
Do you need to start from scratch?
Do you have electric service and access to a mid-size electric motor?

This website may have some useful ideas for your project:
https://507movements.com/toc.html

 

[sophiecentaur]

Do you have a bed or platform to replace your legs with?
Do you need to start from scratch?
Do you have electric service and access to a mid-size electric motor?

This website may have some useful ideas for your project:
https://507movements.com/toc.html

Perhaps she wants a reciprocating mechanism just to move her legs whilst she sits there. A way to achieve this could be a strap, attaching her legs to the rotating drive of a Kitchen Aid mixer. They're pretty powerful but easy to control.

 

[Lnewqban]

I have found this DIY project, just as a reference:
https://www.hackster.io/news/this-d...omatically-rocks-babies-to-sleep-1b3727d317a1

I believe that using a hard smooth floor as the lower surface on which to roll a frame back and forth, could be more economical, while keeping any dangerous mechanism out of reach of the little one.

Perhaps a simple excentric weight, which a slow motor (like the ones ceiling fans use) makes it rotate horizontally, combined with cross sliding guides (like the ones for desk drawers) could be the simplest idea.

 

[sophiecentaur]

Hey! I'm not using any rocking cradle just my legs and a pillow.

The OP has not got back to us and I'm really not surprised.
We need some sort of sketch to describe the present arrangement and what needs to be replaced with mechanics. I have a feeling that we have an undefined / undefinable problem here.

 

[Baluncore]

My question is : can I swap these tired legs of mine for an automatic rocking bed that can simulate that type of rocking? (Left<->right) and be a bit faster. Was thinking to add a motor to a sort of curved wooden plate. Need anything else? What's the process? Thanks!

There are still too many unknowns to understand the required motion.

I assume the child lies along the pillow. Do you put the pillow across your legs or parallel with your legs? Where is the child's head?

Do you sit on a chair with knees bent? Are your feet close, or far apart? Are your knees close or far apart? How far?

Or, do you sit on the floor with legs outstretched?

What body movement makes the L/R rocking?
How fast is the rocking now, in cycles per minute?
How fast do you want it to be?

 

[Filip Larsen]

My child is 3 so I need something pretty strong and with a fast rocking motion. She always falls asleep like that.

While a fun DIY project never needs a good excuse to at least brainstorm and design, I guess I will be the one here that instead brings one of those annoying parenting advice, allowing everyone else here to continue with the fun without feeling bad for not mentioning it:

You really should phase your daughter out of the need to be rocked to sleep, even if it may cost a few tears and agony in the short run. Most parents eventually gets this challenge of getting their young ones to "fall asleep alone" and while it may possibly start too early on this I am pretty sure 3 years is not in that category, but it may of course cost some extra tears now.

 

[sophiecentaur]

While a fun DIY project never needs a good excuse to at least brainstorm and design, I guess I will be the one here that instead brings one of those annoying parenting advice, allowing everyone else here to continue with the fun without feeling bad for not mentioning it:

You really should phase your daughter out of the need to be rocked to sleep, even if it may cost a few tears and agony in the short run. Most parents eventually gets this challenge of getting their young ones to "fall asleep alone" and while it may possibly start too early on this I am pretty sure 3 years is not in that category, but it may of course cost some extra tears now.

This is not a childcare advice forum. How can you possibly feel qualified to comment on the OP’s situation with her daughter.
Stick to Scientific matters and try to avoid treading where angel fear.

 

[Filip Larsen]

How can you possibly feel qualified to comment on the OP’s situation with her daughter.

I feel qualified in my capacity as a parent, and due to the fact I have never met any other parents who ever regretted using the required effort to learn their kids to "fall asleep alone". But as I mentioned, everyone including the OP is of course free to ignore any such advice and carry on with with the fun work-around.

Stick to Scientific matters and try to avoid treading where angel fear.

I am sticking to science. My claim would be that it is a far more long term efficient solution for a family if their kids learn to sleep alone. And as an engineer I consider this good practice too. Asking about a clients real need when they order some weird contraption oozing of being a work-around and then recommend them to consider solve the real issue is part of the service. Surprisingly many clients (and people in general, dare I say) seem think in terms of work-arounds (problem patches) instead of zooming out a bit and try solve the real issue.

But lets not beat this issue more. I have said my thing and if the client is still happy about getting the work-around they have set their eyes on then go for it.

 

[Rive]

Okay, this will be a bit quite wrong source, but if I took the motion you wish to achieve right, then the direction... erm... some of the tools, maybe? ... might give some ideas (just don't get the wrong idea, please)...



Ps.: jokes aside, please also keep in mind that the safety of any childcare equipment requires quite rigorous analysis and careful approach. It may be that despite your effort the safest solution remains your knees - since that means continuous attention and the lack of any potentially force-multiplying machinery.

Maybe you could think about some simple stand or swing instead, just to take over the weight and still do the movement yourself?

 

[Tom.G]

How about a teeter-totter assembly to rest your feet on? Just to try it out could be as simple as a board across a can of food from the pantry.

 

[sophiecentaur]

I feel qualified in my capacity as a parent,

You are qualified to have an opinion about your own kids. Personally, we had no problem at our kids' bedtimes either but, as grandparents, we did observe different bedtime characteristics for nine grandchildren. We weren't in the driving seat of course but would never have presumed to make comments about the way our grandkids were dealt with. Even less with other families.

The point of my comment was that we don't know the circumstances of the OP or child. One of my grandchildren has definite special needs and I bear that in mind whenever tempted to hold forth on how other people should parent their children. The OP asked a practical question an that should be the limit of any answer from PF

PF always considers health and safety issues but that's different.

 

[Averagesupernova]

There are plenty of instances on PF where someone posts that they want to achieve X by doing Y. Often times Y seems clunky, overly complicated, expensive, etc. Then the majority of members try to influence the OP to achieve their goals by doing Y a completely different way and it is generally accepted to offer this advice. Why is it different in this case?