making babies cry?

Parent-child relationship is not damaged, according to the study

Created: 2022-06-20Updated: 2022-06-20 09:36

By: Natalie Hull Drawbar

Waiting and not immediately checking on the crying baby - a study showed that this has no negative impact on the parent-child relationship.

Munich – The baby is here and with it not only a whole new phase of life, but also an unusual level of noise.

It is quite normal and important for babies to cry - this is how they draw attention to themselves and their needs.

For many new parents, however, there is often a challenge here: react immediately to the screaming or wait a little.

Because waiting could affect the good bond - really?

A study led by Dr.

Ayten Bilgin and Professor Dr.

Dieter Wolke proved that a disturbed parent-child relationship is not the result if parents initially wait and see their baby crying in the first months of life.

On the contrary: the youngsters became calmer.

making babies cry?

Two experts say the parent-child relationship is not damaged

"Having children is not difficult, but being a parent is very..." - a proverb that many people who have children and raise them would confirm.

Once the baby is born, parents are confronted with a wide range of issues: Breastfeeding - yes/no and for how long, when and why to stop breastfeeding, when to give the first complementary food, when to send it to the crèche or kindergarten, what to do when the child not sleeping through the night, how to react to tantrums, raising the child to be independent as early as possible or initially overprotecting it, when is the right time for a nanny, when can the child be left alone at home?

When the baby cries, react immediately or wait and see?

According to a study, waiting and waiting does not harm the relationship.

(Icon image) © Cavan Images/Imago

And in addition to all these topics and questions about the baby, one of the biggest challenges in the life of the parents is that the offspring can only express themselves by crying and screaming and not yet with words.

If the baby then cries non-stop and becomes a crying baby, the parents' nerves can be on edge.

Many parents rely on osteopathy when their little one cries a lot or sleeps badly.

Family life becomes a burden - even more so when the mother develops postnatal or postpartum depression.

Study shows: Parents who intuitively wait and see the crying baby do not harm the child

In the study, the two scientists Dr.

Ayten Bilgin and Professor Dr.

Dieter Wolke 178 newborns and their parents over a period of 18 months.

The focus was on the respective reactions of mother and father.

At the beginning of the study and in the first months, the parents reacted very sensitively to their crying child - in the following months their reactions were more cautious and increasingly hesitant.

This gave the baby the opportunity to self-regulate its behavior.

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It was found that the babies became calmer up to the age of about 1.5 years if their parents reacted less quickly or cautiously to their offspring's crying in the first three months - compared to the parents who did not .

Using the results of psychological tests, the authors of the study were able to show that "let someone scream" is not a sign of heartlessness or a lack of affection on the part of the parents.

It was therefore not confirmed that the child immediately developed possible behavioral problems because the mother or father did not check on him immediately.

Conclusion and recommendation of the scientists: As parents, rely primarily on your own intuition and also trust the baby and trust that it can calm itself down if necessary.

If it can't, you should definitely contact your pediatrician or a cry clinic.

This article only contains general information on the respective health topic and is therefore not intended for self-diagnosis, treatment or medication.

In no way does it replace a visit to the doctor.

Unfortunately, our editors are not allowed to answer individual questions about clinical pictures.