Cry Your Eyes Out: 10 Reasons Crying Is Good For You

When we think of infants, we often associate them with crying, and there’s good reason for that: most babies cry an average of two to three hours every day during their infancy. This is because weeping and wailing are a child’s only means of communication when they’re first born. Hunger, discomfort, a dirty diaper, a desire to be held —all of these and other wants and needs are signaled through crying. Researchers have found the first six weeks of a baby’s life to be the loudest; afterwards, as mothers become more comfortable and in-tune with their child, the amount of screaming and crying starts to decrease. Of course, unexpected factors like colic and acid reflux can extend this time frame and make the crying even more emphatic. The best thing to do for a child is to make them as comfortable as possible. The sense of safety they had while in the womb has been taken away, so creating a similar environment can go a long way towards calming them.