The Importance of Picking Up Babies When They Cry

Babies have extremely limited physical abilities, being unable to speak and largely immobile without assistance. Because of these limitations, babies use crying as a predominant form of communication. When your baby cries, you may vacillate as to the best course of action: to attend to the crying, or to ignore it. Explore the importance of responding to a baby̵7;s cries to understand why your baby needs your loving care.

  1. Nurturing

    • A baby̵7;s cry has a design about it that makes it nearly impossible to ignore, according to pediatrician and author William Sears, with the Ask Dr. Sears website. When a caregiver hears a baby̵7;s cry, the overwhelming desire is usually to help the baby to stop the crying, typically by picking him up. Breastfeeding mothers even have a biological response to a baby̵7;s cry, with milk ducts letting down milk in preparation to feed the baby, advises Sears.

    Discerning Signals

    • When a baby is a newborn, her cries are the same, regardless of the need or the reason. Anger, fatigue, hunger and discomfort will all sound the same as you listen to her cry. Eventually, by about 1 month of age, a baby will begin using various cries for different needs. The hunger cry will sound different from the tired cry, if you pay attention to the rhythms and pitches of the cries, states the Parenting website.

    Nurturing to Instill Security

    • When a parent responds readily to a baby̵7;s cries by picking him up, this action teaches the baby that someone will respond when he cries. As a baby experiences a caregiver responding and soothing to resolve issues, the baby will learn that crying brings someone to provide care, which instills security. A baby who does not receive a response to crying may withdraw and stop crying because he doesn̵7;t expect a response. A more persistent baby may cry more frantically until you finally pick him up because he is so upset. This baby may learn not to trust that parents will meet his needs.

    Spoiling

    • A common misperception exists among some parents about spoiling a baby by picking her up when she cries. In actuality, the opposite appears to be true, with a baby crying less and exhibiting fewer indications of spoiling when parents respond more readily to crying, states professor Nancy Darling, writing for the "Psychology Today" website. When parents act quickly to pick up a crying baby, she often becomes more independent, confident and curious about exploring as a toddler. Since babies also use smiles as a method of gaining desired attention, there is no more reason to ignore cries than to ignore smiles, states the Parenting.org website.

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