We spend most of our lives sleeping, especially during infancy. Sleep is very important for healthy development in babies. Sometimes, in order to teach babies to sleep and to support them to sleep on their own, sleeping behavior is taught by not going to them even if they cry. Although this is a wrong practice for the child's psycho-social development, it can also cause many problems in later life.
Human beings are biopsychosocial beings. While even most adults do not want to be alone, this is extremely important for the baby. It is a wrong practice to help the baby learn to sleep by not going to him even if he cries when his ego is extremely weak, that is, between 4 and 5 months of age. The baby starts crying and then stops crying after a while. Parents think that the baby has gotten used to this situation and learned to fall asleep comfortably, but what actually happens is that the baby does not learn to sleep this way but learns learned helplessness. The baby, who is left alone in the room, chooses an abstract and dull object, like a toy, to meet his need for support and security, since there is no parent nearby, and tries to calm down with the assurance that "he is here" and "he is not leaving".
So what should you do when your baby cries?
Crying is a message, it is necessary to evaluate this message very well. Imagine that an adult is crying in the room, you immediately want to go to him and find out what happened. Since your baby cannot express himself verbally, he expresses his wishes by crying, and the messages coming from the baby should be evaluated carefully, just like an adult.
First of all, it should be examined whether there is a medical-physiological problem that will affect sleep. Dirty diaper, hungry stomach, fever, gas, reflux, etc. If there is a physiological-medical problem, these should be resolved first. Rituals performed before going to sleep facilitate a comfortable sleep. Taking a warm shower, breastfeeding or bottle feeding, massage, relaxing music or a different ritual that you and your baby create may help ease the transition to sleep.
Sleep is important in the first year: It means relaxing and calming down. After a while, the caregiver's ability to remain calm improves the baby's self-calming capacity. . The calmer and more comfortable the caregiver is, the calmer the baby will remain. Having parents who support and reassure him when he cries and meeting his needs is very important for both a healthy sleep and healthy psycho-social development.
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