Babies Who Cry A Lot May Develop Behavioral Problems
(spinalcentres.com.au)
Babies are known to cry quite a lot when they are little, but if the crying is also accompanied by problems involving feeding and sleeping, they might be at risk of developing behavioral problems later in life.
According to a new research, one in five babies has certain symptoms that may lead to conditions such as ADHD. In the research, more than 17,000 children have been watched, for a period of 19 years, from 1987 to 2006 and many studies were compared, in order to verify if the excessive crying may have some sort of a link with behavioral problems. Although some experts said that parents should not be alarmed if their baby is crying a lot, if the excessive crying lasts even after the age of 3, then there might be a problem different from colic.
The results of the studies made between 1987 and 2006 show that children who were big cry babies developed ADHD, anxiety, depression and even violent behavior once they grew older. The crying alongside with the lack of sleep and lack of appetite made researchers get to the conclusion that there are the most important factors that influence a child’s behavior. Professor Dieter Wolke, from the University of Warwick, told the BBC that there were some treatments that parents could try in order to reduce a baby’s cries and to increase his or her appetite, but there is no evidence that these treatments really work or that they have an impact later in life. If someone could prevent behavioral problems, it would be very important from a public health point of view.
Parents know very well when something is wrong with their child and the study “really reinforces the need for attention at an early stage to prevent issues later in childhood,” according to Professor Mitch Blair, officer for health promotion at The Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health. Thus, parents should go see someone if they notice that their baby is crying too much and eats and sleeps to little. They should get help, because according to what the researchers involved in all the studies made from 1987 to 2006 said, these are the most common things that can lead to behavioral problems later in life.11
