Excessive Crying May Lead to Sleeping and Eating Difficulties

The results of a telephone survey conducted in Germany indicate that children who cry excessively past three months of age are more likely to experience both eating and sleeping difficulties. Parents of 1,865 children aged 6–47 months answered a variety of questions relating to sleeping, eating and crying patterns. Excessive crying was defined as crying at least 3 hours a day, 3 days a week, for at least 3 weeks. A total of 16.3% of the respondents reported excessive crying in their child in the first 3 months, 5.8% beyond 3 months, and 2.5% beyond 6 months. Only excessive crying beyond 6 months was linked with sleeping and eating problems. The results were published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/search?fulltext=kries