Admit it. Swaying off to sleep in a moving car is one of the greatest feelings ever. This is especially true for children who pass out in the car and magically end up in their beds.
According to some parents, driving around with their newborn child does wonders as they are put to sleep. Why? Because the interior of a moving car is very similar to a womb. “Babies in the womb are constantly, gently, rocking and a cars offer that kind of very low-level of movement—almost just swaying in a sense,” developmental psychologist Tracy Cassels told Fatherly. The engine also adds to the feeling of being inside the womb as it’s “white noise that babies also are used to. This muffled kind of sound in the womb”.
Iconic American automaker Ford also agrees with this notion. “For many new parents, there is only one guaranteed solution to putting their baby down at the end of the day – a night-time drive that soothes, calms and eventually helps little one nod off,” said Ford.
As such, Ford developed a prototype smart crib called Max Motor Dreams that simulates the motions and engine noises of a car. The crib can also recreate street lighting with embedded LEDs.
The functions of Max Motor Dreams is controlled via an app. With the app, users have the option to record then reproduce the movement, lights and sounds of a particular car ride.
“After many years of talking to mums and dads, we know that parents of newborns are often desperate for just one good night’s sleep. But while a quick drive in the family car can work wonders in getting baby off to sleep, the poor old parents still have to be awake and alert at the wheel,” said Max Motor Dreams designer Alejandro López Bravo, of Spanish creative studio Espada y Santa Cruz. “The Max Motor Dreams could make the everyday lives of a lot of people a little bit better.”
