We all know that babies cry, so my question is, is it ok to let them cry sometimes or not?
Well on the one hand babies cry for a reason so if you drop whatever you’re doing as soon as you hear them crying and find out what they need then that can be good, as you are meeting the needs of your baby.

However allowing that child to cry teaches them to wait and can in some cases stop them from becoming a mardy child. From a parents perspective it seems to be that the general concensus is that it’s ok to choose a little from colum A and a little from colum B. Basically what this means is that in some cases it is best to drop whatever you’re doing and in other cases to let the child cry. As parents you quickly learn to distinguish the diffference between different cries and if in doubt you watch what they are doing, so you know which ones it is ok to delay attending to.

If you child is in pain then NEVER ignore this one, or if your child is ill. However if your child is crying because they are tired it is ok to put them in their cot or pushchair, to sleep and leave them to settle themselves checking every 5 mins to make sure that they are ok. THis has positive benefits for the child as it teaches them to settle themselves. Which in turn is beneficial for you as it means that you don’t have to spend ages trying to get your child to sleep then attempt to change the habit when they get older, as one parent found out. She was a single mother and would sit cuddling her son till he fell asleep, sometimes it took 5 minutes other times it took hours. As the child got older and moved into his own room it took her years to get her son out of this habit, 5 to be exact. Not only does it take ages to change the habits but it can also cause other problems such as only you can put the child to bed thus meaning that if you wanted to go out, you wouldn’t be able to go very far in case the child woke up. Plus if you have a partner then in some cases the child wont settle if your partner tries to put the child to bed.

Some parents say that they find that they can’t get anything done. As a mother of 2 I’ve found that the following things can help:

  • Putting the baby in a sling/baby carrier
  • Putting the child in a bouncer and moving it from room to room with you
  • Putting them on a mat surrounded by toys then move it when you leave the room (this only applies if you are out of the room for more than a few minutes)
  • If your child is mobile a playpen with plenty of toys in can be helpful

At the end of the day it is your child you have to do what is right for you and your lifestyle.