Can leaving your baby to cry damage its brain?
April 25th 2010 21:41
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From: Mail on Line
By Linda Kelsey
23rd April 2010
When I had my son 22 years ago, something of a skirmish broke out between my mother and me.
She said babies were resilient little things that didn't require their every whim being pandered to. But my instinct was to rush to comfort my child whenever he was crying.
Back then, my views were supported by the favoured baby guru of the time, Penelope Leach, who advised parents never to leave a baby to cry unattended.
Conflicting views: Should a child be cuddled and hugged to stop them crying, or should you leave them to 'cry it out'?
Now, here we are again in 2010 and the same mothering debate has just been reignited.
Leach is back with a new book which contains an intriguing and very modern development, while fighting for my mother's point of view is Gina Ford, best-selling author of The Contented Little Baby Book.
She sternly advocates leaving babies to cry in order to train them into regular feeding, waking and sleeping patterns.
More...Crying babies are at risk of brain damage, claims child expert
This time, in Leach's new book, The Essential First Year - What Babies Need Parents To Know, she claims she has science on her side.
Controversial: Dr Penelope Leach claims that leaving a baby to cry could affect its development
Neurobiologists say, according to Leach, that high cortisol levels are 'toxic' to the developing brain.
'It is not an opinion but a fact that it's potentially damaging to leave babies to cry. Now we know that, why risk it?' says Leach.
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