Leaving babies to 'cry it out' will not impact child development - study

Letting a baby "cry it out" will not impact their behavioural development as a toddler, new research suggests.

The study, conducted by experts at the University of Warwick, found that there were no adverse impacts of leaving infants to cry by themselves.

Researchers worked with 178 children and their caregivers and quizzed parents on their child's frequency of crying and their use of leaving the infant to "cry it out" at various stages between when the baby was born and 18 months old.

The child's behavioural development and attachment to their parent were also assessed.

Researchers discovered that the use of the "cry it out" technique was rare when a baby was born, but increased over the child's first 18 months.

They found it had no negative effect in the first six months in infancy - tested by how securely a baby is attached to their caregiver during separation and reunion episodes.

And no difference in behavioural development was found at 18 months between children left to cry or those soothed straight away.

Meanwhile, a child's "cry duration" was found to be lower at 18 months if parents left children to cry it out for a few times when they were born.

"Frequency of leaving infants to cry it out in the first six months in infancy was not found to be associated with either adverse behavioural effects on infant development or infant-mother attachment at 18 months of age," the authors of the study wrote.

However the authors cautioned that their research neither recommends leaving babies to cry out nor respond immediately.

The authors noted that many parents responded intuitively to their babies - attending them immediately when they cried when they were younger.

But as they got older, the parent waited to see whether their baby could calm themselves.

Dr Ayten Bilgin, from the Department of Psychology at the University of Warwick, said: "Only two previous studies nearly 50 or 20 years ago had investigated whether letting babies 'cry it out' affects babies' development.

"Our study documents contemporary parenting in the UK and the different approaches to crying used."

Professor Dieter Wolke, who led the study, added: "Most parents intuitively adapt over time and are attuned to their baby's needs, wait a bit before intervening when crying and allow their babies the opportunity to learn to self-regulate.

"Most babies develop well despite their parents intervening immediately or not to crying."

The study was published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.