58
votes
Accepted
What to do about my toddler's fixation on the smell of her mother’s hair?
Your daughter is exhibiting self-soothing behavior, usually more pronounced when the child is tired or falling asleep. From the AAP's healthychildren.org page on common childhood habits:
Their ...
- 72.2k
54
votes
When a baby cries, should we speak to it?
If you want to do what is best for your baby, then you should be talking to her pretty much all the time, except when she's asleep. So yes, talk to her when she cries; your voices will let her know ...
- 72.2k
53
votes
Accepted
How to deal with my 2-year-old daughter crying and getting angry when we don't give her what she asks for?
This is a difficult problem for parents because we hate making our children cry, but it seems to me that you use 'the naughty place' / timeout and that can be effective. I don't call it 'the naughty ...
- 17.4k
17
votes
Why aren't pacifiers used to stop infants from crying in airplanes?
Pacifiers aren't magic. If something else is bothering a baby, a pacifier only calms them for a short while. This is useful, for example, if you need a baby to calm down for a few minutes while you ...
- 36.1k
16
votes
When a baby cries, should we speak to it?
I'd suggest you just try it. Whatever works, works. You'll notice soon enough what makes her calm down, and what doesn't.
I don't think there are rules to this, and not all babies respond to exactly ...
- 8,755
13
votes
How to deal with my 2-year-old daughter crying and getting angry when we don't give her what she asks for?
It sounds like what you have is a breakdown in communication. It's especially difficult around this age since she is trying to make use of her newly acquired language skills.
Look at it from her ...
- 1,242
13
votes
What to do about my toddler's fixation on the smell of her mother’s hair?
"If my wife will not allow her to do so, she will keep crying and crying without stop."
Sadly, I fear that this may be indicative that she has learnt that by crying, she can have her way; and I ...
- 287
10
votes
Does "Crying it Out" with a 9 month old make sense when in a hotel for a few days?
I think you're right in your concerns about confusing your baby. It's a good idea to wait until you get back from your trip to start sleep training unless you are going the "Extinction with parental ...
- 72.2k
10
votes
How to make my 8-year-old son stop crying over the most simple things?
I am not an expert on ADHD and can not emphasize enough that what I am about to say is not easy to do in practice without addressing ADHD or any other emotional/cognitive condition. As with ...
- 3,753
9
votes
When a baby cries, should we speak to it?
She is an infant. At this point she knows two things: I am content, I am not content. If the baby is crying soothe it. If that means talking, talk. If that means touching, touch. You will quickly ...
- 1,612
9
votes
My newborn does not want to sleep at night
That sounds relatively normal.
Note that a newborn has no concept of day and night yet - at least in the sense of what is a time for activity or sleeping. Even older babies that have good "sleeping ...
- 18.3k
9
votes
Sleeping Less with Merlín Magic suit?
First, sleep deprivation (a nightmare-while-awake) is a real problem for every parent with every new infant, so trying to get the baby to sleep more is a real priority for parents. So your desire is ...
- 72.2k
8
votes
How to deal with my 2-year-old daughter crying and getting angry when we don't give her what she asks for?
My feeling is that this is not directly about the phone. The outburst is symptomatic of an unmet need, and it's not the need for your phone.
Your child is two.
You are on your phone.
The message to ...
- 81
7
votes
When a baby cries, should we speak to it?
From my experience, easiest way to comfort a newborn is to hold it so that they can hear your heartbeat (on the chest).
One of the constants before birth is the heartbeat of the mother, and therefore, ...
- 71
6
votes
Accepted
Why does my baby cry when I hold her while sitting down?
Why? Babies have evolved that way. Not just human babies, infants behave the same way across the animal kingdom:
Here we show a novel set of infant cooperative responses during maternal carrying. ...
- 515
6
votes
When a baby cries, should we speak to it?
Your voice will not irritate your baby girl, unless of course you're yelling, or talking in an angry tone.
Talking on its own though, will rarely sooth a crying child. Gentle physical contact is ...
- 3,915
6
votes
Forcing my sister/child to do any activities outside from school. How to approach a child differently in order to get their interest?
This sounds like it could be some sort of social anxiety. The first thing I would recommend is not trying to force anything on her. Trying to get someone to overcome anxiety by force is trying to ...
- 602
6
votes
Accepted
Baby crying till breathless
I've always called that the "air-raid scream". You see the baby's face scrunch up and get red while they inhale and then ... WAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! (much like an air-raid siren).
It's normal....
- 13.3k
6
votes
What to do about 13-month-old who cries and whines all the time?
Unfortunately this is most likely just a phase. If it is, how long it lasts all depends on your reaction to it.
I've experienced new baby jitters in two very different situations. In my first ...
- 13.4k
6
votes
How to make my 8-year-old son stop crying over the most simple things?
While not an official DSM symptom of ADHD, Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria is a common issue with ADHD.
I'm just learning what to do with an ADHD child, so take this advice lightly: I've started ...
- 160
6
votes
Accepted
How to make my pre-schooler stop trying to make his friends follow the instructions given to him?
Children (usually) live by a routine from birth until... well, pretty much their entire childhood. But until they attend nursery, pre-school or school then that routine is enforced only by parents, ...
- 361
6
votes
Accepted
Why does my 16 month old daughter cry when we imitate animal sounds?
Unexplained/seemingly random toddler phobias are extremely common, and particularly with children that are more anxious or sensitive in general. I know of one small child who would cry hysterically ...
- 7,894
5
votes
Accepted
Settling in toddler in daycare
The same exact scenario happened with my Son. He did not have any interaction with any kids before. While entering the daycare itself, he would imitate vomiting and in a few minutes he would vomit ...
- 168
5
votes
Accepted
What to do with tantrums if screaming it out is not possible?
For the most part, I think the answer is, unfortunately, that your neighbors will have to be understanding for a while. Three year olds scream a lot, and that's just a fact of life. They are ...
- 63.5k
5
votes
How much crying is OK for a newborn child?
Before I give you my advice as a mother of 6 and grandmother to boot, I just want you to realize that you were given instincts as parents and to make sure to follow them. :)
Newborn babies are ...
- 480
5
votes
1yo cries almost non-stop when her mother is present - driving my wife to a breakdown
Is there any chance that you can afford to have a sitter come over for an hour or two once in a while? (I'm assuming that you work outside the home so you couldn't do this for her, though you might ...
- 9,007
5
votes
Accepted
5 year old is very prone to emotional outbursts - especially when he doesn't get his way
This is pretty common in this age, and we've definitely had similar issues with both of ours. Part of it is that they can't see the long term very well - right now is the only time to them, and so it'...
- 63.5k
5
votes
I'm in deep trouble with a family
Xavier - you're learning a hard lesson through this, but you are not alone. We all have made mistakes that have painful consequences that we wish would just go away. What I'm about to say comes from ...
- 3,753
5
votes
My baby won’t stop crying while I am at work
I worked afternoon shift yesterday and morning shift this morning.
Yesterday I tried adding some strawberries to his milk. He drank about five ounces of strawberry milkshake while I was at work and he ...
- 191
4
votes
What to do about my 3-year-old crying and throwing a fit about going to daycare?
There's not a lot of information her about how long she has been going, and whether this has always been the case, but I'll try to answer as best I can.
I'm going to go with the assumption that this ...
- 2,486
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible