5 Simple, Effective Steps on How to approach Your Crying Child

Children cry for a number of reasons to include hunger, anger, fear, anxiety, teething, sickness, and so on. Most often, the child can be provided with a solution that quickly calms the child down, thus stopping the crying. However, for the parent who has one or more children who seem to cry at anything and then will not stop, it is easy to feel frustrated, guilty, hopeless, and even angry.

We have provided five steps on how to stop a crying child, quickly and effectively. Now, keep in mind that the method used will vary depending on the reason for the children crying. Typically, these solutions would apply to a crying child regardless of the reason.

Rocking - Most crying children love to be held. Something magical happens when mom or dad sits down in a rocking chair, holding the child on the lap and then rocking. The back and forth motion of the rocker coupled with the warmth and security of the parent's arms is a great soothing tool. You might even hum or sing softly to your child, creating a sense of comfort and security. Distraction - Sometimes, distracting a crying child will do wonders. For this, you could make a funny face, get out a favorite toy or game, or put a lively movie in the DVD to share. Breaking the crying cycle using distraction usually works quite well. Snacks - Consider offering your child a snack, such as a piece of fruit, a cookie, or some other favorite food. If the child continues to cry, you could even offer to let him or her choose the snack. Sometimes by giving a crying child some power through choice, you see the crying start to diminish. Tickling - Often, children crying are so absorbed in the process of crying that nothing seems to work. In this case, try tickling your child, making light of the situation by laughing and having fun. Many times, the child will come out of the crying mode quickly. Ignore - While this might sound harsh, in some cases, a crying child has become so accustomed to crying to get his or her way that nothing works. Remember, crying is not going to cause your child any harm. You may notice his coloring turning red or a little blue but you can be sure the child is fine. If the child is young, you could place him or her in a crib or playpen, a safe area, and then allow him/her to cry it out but for an older child, you may need to use a time out system, letting the child know that when the crying stops, then he/she can get up to play.