How to understand why a child cries

The child needs you to guess how to help him. How to do it? Here are some tips from the new book Madeleine Denis "Do not cry, baby!", Which was published in the publishing house "Clover".Photo: Getty images

1. Study the reasons that make a child cry

The baby's loud calls will become louder over time.change. The inevitable crying of the first months, meaning "my tummy hurts" or "I'm hungry", will soon be joined by the discomfort of teething, tears from sudden fatigue and whining after the first days in the nursery... Many new emotions and sensations will appear, which should be taken seriously. It is very important to learn to listen to and understand your child's tears, to help him overcome these difficulties. Why does a baby cry? American pediatrician T. B. Brazelton identified six main reasons:

hunger,
boredom,
discomfort,
gastric colic,
the need to discharge at the end of the day,
pain.

At the same time, the greatest exacerbation of crying occurs usually at the 3rd-8th week of the child's life, and the baby cries an average of two hours a day.Photo: Getty images

2. Learn to distinguish between your child's tears

So, according to Brazelton's theory, there are 6main reasons causing tears. Depending on the reason, a child can cry in different ways. Hunger, for example, causes plaintive cries that turn into crying. Their volume gradually increases and is characterized by rhythm. Crying from boredom is not so loud. Usually, it is interrupted from time to time: the child listens to see if his call has found a response. While pain and fear immediately cause loud crying. The force of exhalation during such crying is so great that the baby almost suffocates. Listen to your baby, observe. How does he cry when he is hungry? How, when he wants to sleep or is uncomfortable?

3. Help your baby get through colic

The child winces, blushes, and pulls up his kneesto the stomach and screaming loudly? Most likely, he has colic. This is a common ailment that makes children cry for a long time in the first months and the exact cause of which is difficult to determine. The cause may be the child's or mother's diet, or the immaturity of the baby's digestive system. To help the baby, massage his tummy or carry him in your arms, pressing his tummy tightly to yours. Some facts about colic:

believe that the child suffers colic if he cries more than three hours a day, more than three days a week, more than three weeks in a row;
as a rule, this gastric malaise occurs in three weeks of children and gradually weakens, and then disappears by four months;
the greatest daily aggravation is observed between 15 and 21 hours.

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