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One thing’s for sure, newborns cry a lot. And parents go to great lengths to try and settle them with all sorts of techniques such as driving them around in the car, popping them in vibrating bouncer or, in my case, holding your baby while walking around the house doing one-handed tasks until they fall asleep. However, sometimes the most unexpected things can work, as one TikToker discovered when she played heavy metal music to her crying newborn.
Mary O’Brien posted a clip of her baby, which, for many parents of newborns, looks quite amazing. Initially the baby is quite distraught, crying in her father’s arms. As he gently tries to soothe her, the baby shows no sign of settling. Cue the rousing sound of heavy metal band Memphis May Fire and the change is instantaneous. The baby visibly calms down, stops crying and drifts off to sleep. The mother captioned the video with the question, “Why did this song reliably put my daughter to sleep for all of the newborn phase?”
@maryeobrien Why.
♬ original sound – Mary OBrien
The clip has gone completely viral, with over 2 million views and over 5,750 comments. Not only is it hilarious to watch, but the effect of the music on the crying baby is quite remarkable. You just want to watch it over and over as it never fails to impress. One parent was so astounded that they immediately gave it a go and posted, “WHY DID THIS JUST WORK ON MY 8 MONTH OLD?”
Other parents offered suggestions of songs that worked on their own babies. “My daughter stops crying immediately when she hears Montero by Lil Nas X”, commented one. Another said, “My youngest was only lulled by AC/DC,” while another follower said, “My daughter used to fall asleep to Rage Against the Machine.”
Meanwhile, other suggestions were more random: “my ex-husband used to sing ‘It’s Raining Men’ to our firstborn son. Hushed him up every time!”
While a number of followers were simply impressed by the baby’s taste in music, others offered their opinions on why this occurred. One viewer said, “When studying music’s effect on the brain, classical and metal effect the brain the same way!”
Another also said there was a reason for it: “The music is vibing with her circadian rhythm and it’s causing her relaxations sense to kick in.” One follower said, “Fun Fact: metal can [be] calming for some people with anxiety. So when a baby is crying/stressed it can chill them out too.” Another offered this explanation: “Heavy metal beat matches moms heartbeat and the rest mimics the noise from being in utero so it instantly calms new borns.”
Meanwhile others suggested more straightforward explanations. “They all go quiet when they hear someone else screaming,” says one, while another commented, “someone’s angrier than she is and that’s comforting.”
So, when it comes to calming your baby, who knows what will work and why. I have one child that needs noise to go to sleep and once that needs absolute quiet. It just takes a while to work out what technique (or heavy metal tune) works for which baby. And this clip goes to show that at the end of the day – or a long sleepless night – absolutely anything is worth a try.
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