A new study states that it is ok to leave your child to cry. Here’s why

There is perhaps not a single child in the world who does not cry sometimes. Although it is true that the older they get, the less they should cry, this phase is still unavoidable. Everyone responds differently to the cries of their children, but in general we can say that most parents instinctively try to comfort or calm down their child immediately. That's why a new scientific study will probably surprise you.‍

According to the latest recommendations, the best thing you can do is simply let your child cry. The study was published in The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and while conducting it, the researchers did not find any negative impact if the parent did not try to calm their crying child. Delays in attempting to comfort the child did not even worsen the child's attachment to the mother.

Thus, according to scientists, crying does not harm the child at all– on the contrary. It even has several benefits. So let's look at the positive effects that scientists are talking about. 

You child will sleep better

The study proved that if you let a child cry during the night without trying to calm them down, they will build much healthier sleep patterns in a short time, thanks to which their sleep will be better and longer (and therefore so will yours). ‍

Very Well Family also writes about a study which came to a similar conclusion. It points out that the children whose parents let them cry at night slept on average 20 minutes longer than the children whose parents had immediately tried to calm them down. 

You strengthen their self-control

Many parents may find this cruel, but it has really been shown that letting a child cry without intervening teaches them to calm down on their own. The main author of the mentioned study, Dr. Dieter Wolke, also confirms this finding. In the case of a crying child, he does not really recommend intervening and adds that children have to be left to cry in order to learn to calm down. When they get used to it, they will be able to regulate their emotions not only at night but also during the day. 

You may naturally want to ask how long the process of adjustment ought to last. In any case, you don’t have to worry about your baby crying all the time for weeks or even months. Parents who decided to practice this method claim that the results were visible after 3 to 4 nights. Even after such a short time, the child was able to calm down on their own after a while. 
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Your child will become calmer in general

The researchers agree that the general conclusion of the whole study is that the child you leave alone will calm down in general and also become less “naughty”. It was also observed that children whose parents opted for this method had fewer outbursts of anger and generally felt happier than children whose parents ran to them at the first sign of crying. 

As you can see, this method really has a number of advantages, and although it may take some parents longer to get used to it, it's definitely worth giving it a chance.