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***This page is still under construction. Thank you for your patience.***
Most parents are overwhelmed with all of the decisions to make during the first years of their child's life: hospital birth or homebirth? Formula or breastmilk? Crib or family bed? Disposable diapers or cloth? Stroller or sling? Circumcise or not? Vaccinate or not? Public school or homeschool? Spanking and yelling, or using gentle discipline? Yet we hear very little about the decision that new studies suggest could have a greater affect than any of those things on your child's personality, mental health, and physical health: the decision to let your child cry it out or not.
The majority of American "experts" promote it, often with absolutely no facts to back up their stance. They are simply trying to exploit tired parents by validating crying it out. All benefits they argue are solely for the parents: less night-waking, and less dependence on parents- neither of which should be forced before a child is ready.
Unfortunately, there have been very few studies done regarding crying it out, but the ones that have been done overwhelmingly prove that it is not at all beneficial to children, and has extremely dangerous consequences.
Here are a few interesting articles:
http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/1998/04.09/ChildrenNeedT
ou.html
http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/Controled%20Crying
.pdf
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/07/14/the_odd_body_crying/
Advocate against crying it out: add this page to your Top Friends, or put one of our pictures on your page!
