Excessive Crying During Infancy Research Paper

The emotional regulation is an extremely meaningful topic that requires a lot of attention. They way how we regulate our emotions affects our relationship with the world. It was well stated that “when our emotions seem to be ill-matched to a given situation, we frequently try to regulate our emotional responses so that they better serve our goals” (Gross, 2002, p. 282). That statement allows us to realize that despite the overwhelming nature of emotions, an individual still tries to control it. It is interesting to mention that there are essential instruments of emotional control and regulation, which were given to all of us by Mother Nature.

In particular, the emotional life of a child is very colorful and intensive. It plays a key role in the formation of the child’s individuality and character. It appears to be the basis of the behavioral patterns and templates, which define the children’s actions and how they treat life circumstances. Every day the children deal with various kinds of complicated emotional patterns, which emerge as positive, as well as negative. Considering that such emotional imprints directly affect and form the children’s conglomerate of psychical reactions, it is extremely important for the adults to provide the required help and assistance. Therefore, it would help the children to handle the emotional ups and downs in a less harmful manner, what, in its turn, would minimize the undesirable risk of psychical dysfunctions

A question of the emotional regulation among children was always important, but in the modern world environment it has even bigger significance. It is well known that the core of the character of any individuality is mostly based on his psychical reactions, which, in its turn, are being directly formed by the thoughts, emotions, and feelings that the human experiences. In this respect, it is clear that those patterns that an individual expresses the most, are the bricks in the wall, called character. However, if it comes to the babies, many negative aspects of harmful emotional patterns could be prevented. Many psychiatrists assume that that the cry at the early age is the form of the protest and stress release. It is normal that a baby struggles to adapt to the new world, which appears to be cold and unusual at the beginning. On the other hand, there are those who claim that the babies cry because of their increased sensitivity towards their parents. It means that the children literally can sense thoughts, emotions, and feelings of the adults. Strangely enough, but it fully explains the fact that often the children are able to sense the existing danger or the presence of extraneous visitors. It is well known that the children’s reaction quickly changes, if someone is present nearby, even if there is no visual contact between the child and the guest. The child’s intuition can identify the presence of the animals as well, and sometimes even determine their approximate location. Should we call it an extrasensory ability or just leave it as it is, without the attempts to classify that phenomenon?

The Issue

My baby cries for hours during the evening, and nothing I do works to soothe him. Is there something wrong with him, or me? Are there any long-term damaging effects (relating to trust, anxiety, and self-esteem) caused by using the ‘cry it out’ method? Is it better for parents to encourage their infants to self-soothe when they wake up during the night or their nap, or is it beneficial for them to tend to their infant’s crying (comforting their child each time he or she cries) during the night?

According to James-Roberts, infant crying during the first three months of life is normal and is expected, and crying during the night does not mean that there is a sleeping problem (James-Roberts, 2007). From the ordinary point of view, it could be assumed that one of the mean reasons of infant’s impatience is fear. The fear has been an object that bothers people through generations in all spheres of life. The biggest fright of the humanity relates to the fear of the unknown, and the children are not an exception, especially if we talk about babies. Probably you’ve noticed that the babies often keep looking at the objects that they are familiar with. For instance, if a child is on the street with his mother, in most of the cases, his eyes will constantly seek her because of the instinct of self-preservation. If for some reason, he doesn’t see her, he automatically becomes frightened, as his reflexes tell him that his security is in danger. The point is that the main background for the above-mentioned reactions is fear, and the crying issue is not an exception.

On the other hand, we have a physical aspect of the problem, which could carry a completely different reason and character. For example, a child could have the colic symptoms, which could be the real reason for his impatience (Hyödynmaa & Tammela, 2005). In this respect, the psychological aspect should be put aside, as the issue has a physiological nature of appearance. Thus, a completely different treatment has to be used, which would eliminate the source of colic, and prevent the possibilities of its emergence in the future. The following treatment requires the changes in the baby’s ration and implies specific medical support through medicines, as well as additional attention from the parents (Çiftçi & Arikan, 2007).

The healthcare in the early age is a very delicate theme. Therefore, there are subtle details that must be taken into account, when treating a child. The parameters, such as the precise weight, height, exact age and gender should be included. It means that a baby should be under the observation of an experienced and highly-qualified specialist, who can combine various methods and achieve the effective results in the maximally short term. There was a study, dedicated to the decreasing of colic symptoms among the babies. It was indicated that during the osteopathic manipulation, 24 infants had experienced the relief in crying between the first and the fourth weeks of treatment with the rate of 63% (Hayden & Mullinger, 2006).

There are many different ways of colic symptoms treatment. Some of them appear to be too unusual and extraordinary, but still, it does not affect their effectiveness. For instance, the approach of chiropractic treatment has been shown some results, although according to the critical reviews and analysis, “only one trial reported significant reduction in crying in treatment compared to control group but methodologically poor” (Hunt and Ernst, 2010, p. 3). In spite of the negative reviews concerning the above mentioned treatment method, there is still hope that the additional investigations would enhance the overall result.

Conclusion

Today, the healthcare is definitely at the high level of development. However, there are too many hidden obstacles that are not being taken into account by the orthodox scientists and doctors. First of all, it is directly related to the topic of the psychical side of the problem, which doesn’t have a physical nature of existence. It is not all about the brain. Considering that there is something else, the topic cannot be treated from the limited material perspective of things. Many mistakes, which have been made in the medical sphere so far, were mostly based on the incompetence and lack of understanding of the health institutions. The point is that the actual reason for any of illness is directly related to the corresponding psychical problem, which is mostly not visible. In this respect, the psychical disorders often get caused by the wrong attitude of the parental side. Further, they go through their developing process and form the negative templates tat later influence the physical body in the according manner. The one who seeks can find numerous proves of the current topic and arrange his personal investigation to find out more about the above-mentioned case from a distinctive, unordinary point of view. The real seeker should always proceed from the critical thinking, especially concerning the orthodox medicine, and base only on his personal research. In its turn, to prevent the negative impacts on health, the parental attitude should be correct and smooth. In its turn, based on the right behavior, there will be no psychical disorders, and a child will grow healthy and happy.

References

Çiftçi, E. K., & Arikan, D. (2007). Methods used to eliminate colic in infants in the Eastern parts of Turkey. Public Health Nursing, 24, 503-510.

Gross, J. (2002). Emotion regulation: Affective, cognitive, and social consequences. Cambridge University Press, 39(3), 281-291.

Hayden, C., & Mullinger, B. (2006). A preliminary assessment of the impact of cranial osteopathy for the relief of infantile colic. Complementary Therapies In Clinical Practice, 12(2), 83-90.

Hunt, K., & Ernst, E. (2006). The evidence-base for complementary medicine in children: a critical overview of systematic reviews. Arch Dis Child, 96(8), 769-776.

Hyödynmaa, E., & Tammela, O. (2005). Cradling in the prevention of excessive crying and colic symptoms in infants. Infant mental health journal, 26(3), 217-230.

James-Roberts, I. (2007). Helping parents to manage infant crying and sleeping: a review of the evidence and its implications for services.