The impact of "crying it out" on a baby's brain

Watch Video: The impact of "crying it out" on a baby's brain by Aimee Wheeler, PsyD, ...
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The impact of "crying it out" on a baby's brain

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When you allow a baby to cry it out or cry themselves to sleep, it is impacting their brain development. All of that crying, ultimately, means stress for them, and stress means the release of cortisol in the brain; which will greatly impact how your brain develops. When you think about how babies are evolutionarily wired to sleep, it is with a parent, and comforted; not in a state of fear and stress. When you think of letting a baby to cry it out, there might be better ways to get your baby to sleep; to sleep more comfortably and confidently without having the impact that a crying it out situation will have.

Watch Video: The impact of "crying it out" on a baby's brain by Aimee Wheeler, PsyD, ...

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Aimee Wheeler, PsyD

Therapist

When her son was born, Aimee found herself in uncharted waters. She knew she wanted to be a different type of parent than her parents had been. After years of self-exploration, she felt she had healed a lot of her childhood emotional wounds and that she could be a good mother but she didn't really know how to parent differently. She went to Mommy and Me classes, breastfeeding groups, you name it, searching to fill a void she initially could not identify. They were all helpful but not what she felt she was longing for. She realized she was looking for a safe place to really talk about the challenges she was facing every day. Unfortunately, it seemed that none of the forums she found as a new mother were able to provide that. She vowed then to create such a place for parents, and the idea for Parenting Discovery Center was born.

Her educational background in psychology had nurtured her tremendous curiosity about the impact and importance of infant attachment. Her research in this area had equipped her with a conscious sieve to help evaluate the overwhelming amount of parenting advice available. What she found was that at a time of total vulnerability, parents are often taught parenting techniques that cause them to unwittingly undermine this important and essential bond. 

The Center provides a safe and supportive environment for exploring the emotions and challenges faced by new parents. They are also here to help peoople understand the importance of attachment and help parents build a conscious bond with their baby based upon their individual family's values and lifestyle. 

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