Introduction
Many parents and guardians today face challenges in dealing with crying babies. Various scholars have expressed differing views on this issue, some asserting that letting the baby cry out is beneficial to both the baby and the adult taking care of it. This is the behaviorist view. This view can be said to view the baby as an intruder into the adult life who should be kept under check through various methods in an attempt to create the least bother for the adults. Others discredit this view under the premise that a child who is left to cry himself out will suffer poor mind development and develop health concerns late in life. People who discredit the behaviorist view assert that it does not factor human development. They also shy away from the idea that babies have to be taught to be independent, a key component of the behaviorist view. An article from a website is used here to address these concerns, seeking to answer the question of whether or not to let babies cry it out.
Presentation of the Argument, Description of the Source, and Summarization of key Points
The article used in this paper is an article by Darcia titled “Dangers of crying it out” and published on the website Psychology Today . The key argument of the author in this article is that letting babies cry out is dangerous and exposes the baby to developmental risks and certain health conditions later in life. According to Darcia, babies express their needs through gestures, retorting to crying only as a last option. Children search for their cravings just like adults seek to get what they need. Like adults, they also settle down once their needs are met. Failure to take adequate care of children causes many long-term effects on them (Gradisar, et al., 2016) . Responsible parenting involves comforting babies when they cry or when they wake up. It creates a secure bond between the baby and the parent. Letting the baby cry out, or ignoring it, on the other hand, destroys neuronal interconnections and affects the development of the brain. Poor brain development is associated with certain health conditions such as the irritable bowel syndrome (Center for the Developing Child, Harvard University, 2010) . It can also impair self-regulation systems and cause abnormal stress reactivity whose patterns may manifest even in adulthood. The writer also argues that it also undermines the sensitivity of the caregiver in that one who learns to ignore the crying voice of a baby will most likely ignore other indicators of the baby’s needs. The key point that the writer posits is that letting a child cry is an indication of inexperience or lack of knowledge for bay care and support, and causes long-run damages to the babies and their future relationships with others.
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Evaluation of the Quality of Reasoning towards the Conclusion
Darcia makes many generalizations in her article. She talks about general crying in babies without any specification about the time or the instance. She seems to suggest that all crying in babies causes them distress and emotional problems. She does not use concrete evidence backed by research to support her claims but instead cites the work of others which may be faulty and unreliable. She asserts that neuroscience confirms letting babies cry can damage them and affect their ability to relate with others in the long-term. She says that crying can make babies have a low IQ and develop unnecessary anxiety. Her paper also states that crying put can also make babies withdrawn and uncooperative, characteristics which they can pass on to the next generation, according to her. She says that the mother and child are a mutual dyad and should be understood as such. Through mutual responsiveness, the mother and child affect the health of each other since they relate symbiotically as a unit. She generalizes this relationship to extend to other caregivers. She says that the care that babies receive determines how they grow. Separation from their caregivers affects the functions of their bodies negatively.
The author points out flaws in the works of other scientists who hold a dissenting opinion on the matter. She insists on the importance of the use of observation and not parent reports for such studies and recognizes that the intervention used in the study should be strictly adhered to. She says that researchers who studied the matter and got a result different from hers used varied age differences and failed to capture or measure the wellbeing of the children in the study (Navaez, 2011) . The paper rightly states that generalizable conclusions cannot be drawn from a flawed research. Her paper, however, makes certain generalizations using poor reasoning and makes unverifiable claims. The reasoning is biased and not backed by scientific evidence. It does not adequately support the conclusion.
Conclusion
The conclusion of the author is that babies expect comfort- a situation where their needs are met quickly. When in a favorable and comfortable environment, they have good development of their bodies and brain. Imposing a state of independence to a baby only makes them more dependent in the future. The cry of a baby means that they are in need of something important for their development. Meeting the needs of a crying baby before they are distressed is most likely to result to an independent child than it is likely to cause dependence, according to the paper.
References
Center for the Developing Child, Harvard University. (2010). The Foundations of Lifelong Health Are Built in Early Childhood . Retrieved Sep 27, 2018, from https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/the-foundations-of-lifelong-health-are-built-in-early-childhood/
Gradisar, M., Jackson, K., Spurrier, N. J., Gibson, J., Whirham, J., Williams, A. S., et al. (2016, May). Behavioral Interventions for Infant Sleep Problems: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Pediatrics .
Navaez, D. F. (2011). Dangers of “Crying It Out” . Retrieved Sep 27, 2018, from Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/moral-landscapes/201112/dangers-crying-it-out
