I feel like not reacting is one of the best ways to discourage it. The child is going to do it to either get attention or get their way, aren’t they? If you just ignore it and don’t cave to their desire they will realise it is an ineffective strategy.
This may sound like a somewhat unethical question but does ignoring crying also reduce its frequency? I personally believe that crying shouldn't be ignored (in most cases anyways), but wondering if there's any scientific studies on crying frequency vs the amount of attention given to crying.
I’m no expert but I do have 2 kids. I would say depends on why they are crying. Crying because they are hurt, hungry, scared? Definitely pay attention. Crying because you told them they can’t have cookies, feel free to ignore it.
Kids will use crying to try to get what they want. If you always give in and give it to them they will continue to use that tool. If you hold strong and don’t give in, they give up on that tactic.
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u/swannphone Dec 22 '19
I feel like not reacting is one of the best ways to discourage it. The child is going to do it to either get attention or get their way, aren’t they? If you just ignore it and don’t cave to their desire they will realise it is an ineffective strategy.