What To Do When Your Baby Cries

Parenting Tips

Your baby has an important way of telling you she needs something - crying. Crying can mean many things. Here are a few of the things your baby may be trying to tell you with her crying:

• I am hungry.
• I hurt (gas, colic).
• I don't feel well.
• My diaper needs to be changed.
• I'm afraid.
• I want to be held.
• I'm bored.
• I'm tired.
• I'm lonely.

Hearing your baby cry can be hard on you. It is natural for parents to want to soothe their baby. Here are several ways of meeting your baby's needs:

• Hold your baby.
• Rock your baby.
• Walk your baby.
• Feed your baby.
• Burp your baby.
• Check her diaper.
• Pat your baby while she lies on her back.
• Put your baby where she can see activity.
• Talk to your baby.
• Give your baby a pacifier.

Younger infants should not be left to cry alone. It was once believed that picking up a crying baby would spoil her. We now know that babies cry less if their needs are met. They learn to trust that adults will take care of them. At this early age, one of the best ways to comfort her is to pick her up and hold her.

When an infant's crying increases for unexplained reasons over a long period of time and nothing you do to soothe her seems to help, consider calling your doctor. Call your doctor if you think pain or illness may be causing the crying.

These tips were reproduced from the U.S. Department of Education.

View more Infant Parenting Tips.