This is James Van Der Beek’s magical method for calming a crying baby

Whatever method we follow, most parents have a surefire way to calm our crying babies—whatever works, right? Six kids into fatherhood, James Van Der Beek is sharing his own magical method for soothing a crying baby.

Van Der Beek (Does anyone else still think of him as Dawson? Asking for a friend) shared a video of him holding his newborn, Remi, who looks very soothed and calm as he snoozes on is dad’s shoulder.

“Age-old question: What do you do with a crying baby — as he was just minutes ago?” Van Der Beek asks in the video. “I’ve got an acronym for you.”

The acronym? CALLLM. Yes, that’s “calm” with three L’s.

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A post shared by James Van Der Beek (@vanderjames)

“The first C is connection. Recognize that every moment is an opportunity for connection with your baby,” he explains. “That includes smiling, laughing, having a good time and also crying. You’re showing them that you’re able to be there.”

Here is the acronym/magic recipe in its entirety:

Connection
Acceptance
Love
Listen
List
Magic

The “A” is for acceptance. He says just accepting the fact that your baby is crying can make things overall feel more peaceful. You can’t control or change what is happening.

The first “L” is for love, which is self-explanatory. The second “L” is for listen—listen from your heart, he says. “What is your baby trying to tell you? What do they need?”

“List” is for making a mental list of the things they might need—a diaper change, a nap, a blanket, etc.

“You finally get to the M, which is magic,” Van Der Beek says. “That is something you as their parent can offer…it’s your own magic. Maybe it’s your own special song, it’s your own way of holding them, it’s your own way of rocking.”

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A post shared by James Van Der Beek (@vanderjames)

Personally, we were a 5 S’s house for both of our daughters, but we certainly implemented parts of the CALLLM method in our process, too.

Crying babies can be so stressful because all you want to do is make your baby feel better. It’s great when other parents can relate and share their own wisdom with the rest of us!

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