Assalamu alaikum,
I just read this nice article about caring for our children so I
wanted to pass it on to other muslim sisters.
The full article can be found here:
http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/...enNeedTou.html
Here are some excerpts:
"Instead of letting infants cry, American parents should keep their
babies close, console them when they cry, and bring them to bed with
them, where they'll feel safe, according to Michael L. Commons and
Patrice M. Miller, researchers at the Medical School's Department of
Psychiatry.
[...]
The early stress resulting from separation causes changes in infant
brains that makes future adults more susceptible to stress in their
lives, say Commons and Miller.
"Parents should recognize that having their babies cry unnecessarily
harms the baby permanently," Commons said. "It changes the nervous
system so they're overly sensitive to future trauma."
The Harvard researchers' work is unique because it takes a
cross-disciplinary approach, examining brain function, emotional
learning in infants, and cultural differences, according to Charles
R.
Figley, director of the Traumatology Institute at Florida State
University and editor of The Journal of Traumatology.
"It is very unusual but extremely important to find this kind of
interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research report," Figley
said.
"It accounts for cross-cultural differences in children's emotional
response and their ability to cope with stress, including traumatic
stress."