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Should parents allow their babies to cry themselves to sleep?

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Yes		50%	387 votes	Total: 779 votes
No		50%	392 votes	Total: 779 votes

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Yes

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It can often be hard for a mother, or father, to leave their child to cry alone and while I don't agree with parents allowing their children to use tears to get their own way, I also agree that sometimes you just cannot leave a child in that state. It also depends on why the child is crying in the first place. If the child is crying due to misbehaviour you should let the child know that you will not stand for such behaviour. If the reason is because the child is upset, hurt or hungry you should never leave the child alone in such a state.

My parents were in no way strict or harsh. They were, in fact, the opposite but it was not out of the ordinary for my brother or I to cry ourselves to sleep. We were not neglected, hungry or hurt. In most cases the reason for one, or both, of us to be in that situation was because we had been naughty and had been sent to bed early. We were always bathed first whether we liked it or not. My mum has always told me that we would tire ourselves out and it would usually be the best nights sleep she ever had.

A child needs to know that because he/she cries that you are not going to run after them as they will begin to do this to get whatever they want. I have encountered many children who have used tears as a means to get their own way and when faced with someone who won't accept this type of behaviour they develop severe temper tantrums.

I am expecting my first baby this summer and if my child were to misbehave towards bedtime I would do the same but I would never put my child to bed without food or if I knew he/she were extremely distressed.

At the end of the day it is down to a personal choice about the way you raise your children. In most cases you will find that people adopt the parenting techniques that their own parents used.

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