crying – Future Global Children

By Majida MEHANA

Newborns have innate emotions. They cannot speak about their emotions, so they behave and use expressions to help the people around them understand their feelings.

The four emotions that we witness in the first year are:

Happiness: This is expressed when infants are exploring their environments. They are looking around them fully engaged, positive, and open to learning.

Fear: Infants are anxious and look in pain. They turn their faces away as if trying not to face the situation or they could choose to stop responding altogether.

Panic/grief is expressed when infants cannot sense the presence of the caregiver around them and they look sad and cry seeking comfort.

Rage: When infants experience irritation, anger, or restraint for an extended time, they lash out by physically attacking people within their reach.

Happiness is expressed through open body movements and smiles. Babies’ smiles become more purposeful in the early months. They smile as early as two months as a response to touch, move to a social smile at 4 months when seeing their parents, and would laugh of joy at 5 months.

On the other hand, fear becomes more apparent later. It takes time for babies to recognise familiar from non-familiar faces. Once they do, feelings of fear show up when seeing strangers.

It is recommended to expose the child to the different feelings including feelings of insecurity. Parents could wait a short time prior to intervening just to help the child get used to deal with uncomfortable situations. The waiting time should vary depending on the child’s individual needs.

It will take parents some time to understand the facial expressions of infants; however, the process helps parents develop a positive relationship with the child. It is also very important for parents to become attuned to the temperamental characteristics of the child and avoid the child reaching an uncontrolled fear that takes a long time to console.

In the second year, children become more self-aware and they experience feelings of pride and guilt as a response to people’s interactions with them.

Helping children manage the full range of their emotions and learn problem solving techniques to alleviate each emotion will help them succeed in a global world. Successful people accept their emotions and work through them to achieve a balanced life.

Reference:

Garvis, S., Phillipson, S., Clarke, S., Harrison, L., McCormack, J., & Pendergast, D. (2019). Child development and learning. Oxford University Press.

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Children in the first year are more alert than we give them credit for. This series will include facts and recommendations that will help parents and caregivers engage with babies in a confident and an accurate manner. The recommendations will be based on what is known about child development. The provided facts will assure parents and caregivers that they are on the right path to raising a successful person.

Fact: The babies’ first cries could be difficult to act upon. However, with time, babies cry in distress when they have a certain need. Being hungry is often the reason. However, babies will cry when they hear the cries of another baby or when they are tired and ready to go to sleep. Crying increases in the first few weeks before declining.

Recommendation 1: It is important for the parent to learn the child’s daily cycle and needs. This makes identifying the reason behind the cries much easier to discern. The intensity of the cries should help parents understand the severity of the need. It is fine if the parent misses the reason at the beginning. The parent should understand that this is normal and they will become more discerning with experience.

Fact: For Erik Erikson, children move though stages as they develop socially. The child is expected to overcome a challenge in each stage in order to pass it successfully. The first stage is “Basic Trust versus Basic Mistrust” and covers the first year of life. The child needs to feel that if they cry, someone in the environment will respond to their need. They need to trust this new world where they suddenly found themselves in. If their needs go unmet, they will develop a mistrust for people around them. A small amount of unresponsiveness is healthy especially when the parent knows that the child’s basic needs have been met.

Recommendation 2: When the baby is crying, the parent should acknowledge the child even if they are not able to attend physically. A reply from afar helps the child know that help is on the way. The parent should try to be consistent in responding to the child.

Fact: To soothe a crying baby, continuous and rhythmic sounds work best. Babies need an external system that helps them regain a regular rhythm until the balance can be initiated from inside.

Recommendation 3: Singing softly to a crying baby, massaging the body parts, putting a baby in a stroller, or walking while holding the baby are methods that would calm the child. Bringing the baby in close proximity to the caregiver gives them a feeling of safety.

When the baby cries persistently and nothing seems to help them, the parent should seek the advice of a specialist. Crying could indicate an imbalance of the central nervous system. The last thing a parent wants to do is to feel guilty or helpless. Babies will grow up to be independent human beings but their personalities start to get defined from day 1 if not before.

Note: Click to access Part 1 or Part 2.

Reference:

Berk, L. (2013). Child development (9th ed.). Pearson.

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