Not so long ago, psychologists would advise parents not to respond to their babies' cries.  It was thought that parents ran the risk of spoiling their baby, and that by responding frequently and soon when their baby cried, they were teaching their child to use crying to get attention.  

 

Recent scientific study has shown that a baby who cries is not trying to manipulate his parents. When your baby cries, she is merely saying that she needs something.  Many studies indicate that the sooner and more consistently parents respond to their baby's cries, and the more they hold and cuddle her, the less she will resort to crying to get what she wants.  

By responding soon and consistently to your baby during the first months of life - the most important phase - you help your baby to develop more resources to communicate besides crying.  In addition, by doing this you help your baby to feel safe and independent, creating a secure attachment that will last her whole life.

Research shows that babies who develop a secure attachment, whose parents respond promptly when they cry, feel safe and well cared for.  More frequently, by the time these babies reach one year of age, they have developed a language that doesn't involve crying, including sounds, gestures, and facial expressions, to communicate their needs and wants.  Instead of being clingy, whiny and dependent babies, they are more independent than babies whose attachment is not as secure, whose parents ignored them when they cried, or left them alone to "cry it out."