How Do I Lessen My Child’s Crying?

There are various reasons why children cry. It may be because they are still unable to express themselves using words, pain, or simply cannot get what they want. While it is true that crying is a common for children, there are ways to lessen these occurrences.

How to stop your child from crying? The very first step to doing this is to figure out the reasons behind the action. Being well-informed will help you figure how to lessen the waterworks from your child. 

Crying is a natural reaction for people, particularly in children. In regards to stopping it, first consider the reason. To give a better understanding, I have looked closer into the reasons behind why children cry.

Reasons Your Child May Be Crying

To be able to establish an effective plan in stopping your child from crying, it is important to understand its underlying reasons. In summary, here are some of the common reasons:

1. Inability to communicate with words
2. Emotions
3. Physical pain
4. Using it as a way of getting what they want

1. Inability to communicate with wordsble to express one’s self using words

Children, especially really young ones, are at a stage where they may still be processing what feelings are. As they are still unfamiliar with the concept, they tend to use crying to express how they feel. For example, when a child is hungry, tired, feeling sick or frustrated, they may burst into tears if they are unable to say it.

2. Emotions

Being prone to crying may be a part of your child’s personality, especially when they are highly emotional. They tend to cry when things don’t go the way they expected it too or when they intensely miss her parents or friends when they’re away. 

3. Physical pain

As we know, play is a huge part of children’s lives. There are some inevitable instances when they might scrape their knees, slip down or bump their heads. 

4. Using it as a way of getting what they want

Children are smart, especially those who are already able to express how they feel. If they have been used to getting what they want easily, they may use crying as a way of getting your attention to give them what they want. 

Helpful Ways to Lessen Your Child’s Crying

Encourage your children to use their words

Whenever your child cries, try to calm him or her down first. Afterwards, engage in communication, especially if your child is already starting to talk. You can use this as a way of helping them understand and process their feelings. Naming their feelings accordingly is highly encouraged as this will make them more familiar.

If your son tends to throw a crying tantrum when he feels hungry, you can say something along the lines of, “I understand you felt upset because you’re very hungry. I’m sorry you felt that way. But next time, instead of crying, let’s try using our words, okay? You can say, ‘Mommy, I’m hungry.’”

Try to change the scenery when needed

This may apply mainly to younger children, especially toddlers. Naturally, children are explorers. They love moving from one place to another. If they stay too long in one place, they may start to whine and cry. 

If your child really persists to break free from your hold, try to take him or her for a walk at the park, or take them to their favorite ice cream shop. Ideally, it can be anywhere provided that it’s child-friendly and relaxing. It can even be done at the comfort of your home where you can give your kid a warm bath or make them their favorite snack.

Let them know that there are other options

When children don’t get what they want, it serves as a trigger to make them cry as well. The same thing goes when things don’t go the way they want it to. When this happens, you can offer alternatives to your child. If your little boy breaks into tears because his favorite toy broke, you can tell him to play with his other toys for the time being. That way, they tend to become less fixated over one thing and it teaches them to become flexible.

General Advice on Lessening Your Child’s Crying

In general, crying is not necessarily a bad thing. It’s very important to let your child know that it is okay to cry, especially when they are trying to express their sadness or frustrations. However, it also pays to be extra attentive about when to put your foot down when it becomes habitual. Likewise, you will also need to be careful when assessing your child’s needs. If it seems noticeable that your child is crying a lot and seems to act sad most of the time even after talking with him or her, you might want to consider consulting a child behavior specialist as well.

Conclusion

Before coming up with ways on how to stop your child’s crying, it is best to identify first where your little one is coming from. Apart from the given above-mentioned tips, being well-familiarized and accustomed to your child’s personality too is also vital. It may take time before your child can get it, but by being consistent, being patient and being understanding, it can eventually lead to favorable results.

Related Questions

How do I know if my daughter is just using “fake tears”? One of the most obvious signs is when your child uses this as a means of getting what she wants. Be careful, however. Before judging 

What can I do to stop her from doing this? While it’s understandable that parents really can’t bear it when their kids cry, you will need to be firm about not giving in to what they are crying about. If it can be done as early as possible, the better.