THE BLOG Cry It Out: The Method That Kills Baby Brain Cells Denene Millner 12/22/11 11:07 AM ET I know. A dramatic headline. Made you look. But its not fiction. It turns out that the Cry It Out method of baby sleep training, where you ignore that your kid is screaming, crying and turning 40 shades of purple so that she can break herself out of the habit of being spoiled and cuddled to sleep, does more harm -- way more -- than good. In her recent piece for Psychology Today, Darcia Narvaez, an associate professor of psychology at Notre Dame, writes that when babies are stressed, their bodies release cortisol into their systems -- a toxic hormone that kills brain cells. Considering their brains are only 25 percent developed when theyre born full-term and grow rapidly in their first year, killing off baby brain cells is a huge no bueno. Narvaez notes that studies out of Harvard, Yale, Baylor and other prestigious institutions show that said killing off of baby brain cells can lead to the higher probability of ADHD, poor academic performance and anti-social tendencies, and that human babies are hardwired for hands-on comfort and care. Babies are built to expect the equivalent of an external womb after birth... being held constantly, breastfed on demand, needs met quickly, Narvaez writes. These practices are known to facilitate good brain and body development. When babies display discomfort, it signals that a need is not getting met, a need of their rapidly growing systems.
Posted on: Fri, 03 Oct 2014 06:15:27 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015