A person cries when he feels bad. And if there is not an Adult next to you, you can probably sympathize with him and help him.
Just keep in mind — children, who are honest, also have manipulative crying. See →
But keep in mind one more thing: this person, when he feels bad, chooses to ppack — instead of occupying himself with something else. And if there is an Adult next to you, stop him so that he does not fall into childhood.
If you treat your children like adults, you might do the same. See →
Rousseau on how to respond to crying
crying baby
The prolonged crying of a child who is not bound, not sick, in need of nothing, stems solely from habit and perseverance. It is not nature that is to blame here, but the nurse, who, not wanting to endure annoying cries, only multiplies them; she does not understand that by forcing the child to be silent today, we induce him to cry even more tomorrow.
The only way to eradicate or prevent this habit is to pay no attention to crying. Nobody likes to work for nothing, not even children. They are persistent in their efforts; but if you have more firmness than they have stubbornness, they give up and never come back to it. In this way they are saved from weeping and taught to shed tears only when they are forced to do so by pain.
However, when they cry from caprice or stubbornness, there is a sure way to stop crying: you just need to entertain them with some pleasant and striking object that will make them forget about crying. Most nurses are distinguished by this art; and if used with great discretion, it is very useful; but it is most important that the child should not notice the intention to entertain him and amuse himself without thinking that he is being taken care of — and this is precisely where all wet nurses are not particularly clever.
crying baby
When babies start talking, they cry less. This is a natural step forward; one language is replaced by another. Since they can express in words that they are suffering, why should they express it with shouts, unless the pain is so strong that it cannot be expressed in words? If children continue to cry after that, it is the fault of those around them. As soon as Emil says at least once: “It hurts me,” then only the most severe pains can make him cry.
If the child is weak and sensitive, if by nature he is inclined to scream for no reason at all, then by making these screams useless and leading nowhere, I will soon destroy their very source. While he is crying, I do not go to him, and run as soon as he is silent; soon, in order to call me, he will become silent or — at most — will only give a voice. Children judge the meaning of signs only by their visible action; there is no other criterion for them: no matter how much pain a child inflicts on himself, he will rarely cry when he is alone, or when he does not at least hope that he will be heard.
If he falls, bruises his head, bleeds his nose, or cuts off his fingers, instead of fussing around him with a frightened look, I will remain calm for at least a while. The trouble happened — it is necessary that he endure it; any fussiness on my part would only frighten him more and increase his sense of pain. When will you hurt yourself? then, in essence, it is not so much the wound itself that torments, but fear. I will at least deliver him from this last suffering, for he will certainly judge his misfortune in the same way as, in his opinion, I judge: if he sees me running anxiously, comforting him and pitying him, he will consider himself lost; if he sees that I remain cool, he will soon cheer himself up and, when he ceases to feel pain, will be sure that he is healed. At this particular age, we take the first lessons of courage and, enduring light pains without fear, gradually learn to endure strong ones.