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Tempting as it is to pick your baby up and give them a cuddle, you will simply be storing up problems for yourself. Babies learn fairly quickly that crying brings mother or father racing to see what is up. It is often a cry for attention rather than of despair or pain. If you charge in to see what is up, then your baby will do the same every night and you will never get any peace and relaxation.

Obviously the big fear among parents if their baby cries is that there is something wrong with them. I am not suggesting you totally neglect your child, cross your fingers and hope there is nothing wrong with them. You need to monitor the situation to see if they are sick. That can be done easily without having to pick them up and cuddle them, however much you wish to do so.

It is tough leaving your child crying, but whoever said it was going to be easy bringing up a child? You need to overcome your urges to demonstrate your outpourings of love when your baby is crying for attention. Hold back and your baby will soon learn there is no point screaming for you to attend because you will not go running to his cot for the sake of it.

The way you behave towards your baby will effect the way they behave into childhood. If they cry every night and attract your attention, that is the sort of behavior it is impossible to cut out. It will carry on even when your son or daughter has started school. Once you give in, the baby has 'won' and will repeat his crying tactics. You will be at your wits' end and there will be many episodes of temper when you are tired and fed up late at night.

Crying is very tiring. The noise and effort your baby puts into it can be lung bursting. It will blow itself out after a while when there is no real cause to cry. In fact, it may sound stupid, but crying can be a good way of baby going to sleep. He or she becomes so tired, they drop off in no time.

Please do not take the advice to allow your baby to cry as heartless. It is not. Your baby has to learn that he or she has your undivided attention for long periods of the day. The nighttime is your time for yourself unless there is a situation that requires you to tend to him or her.

Learn more about this author, Phil Hill.
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