Don't Cry?

Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons proclaimed, "Big Girls Don't Cry."

Melissa Manchester had a hit with "Don't Cry Out Loud."
Even Judy got into the act singing, "When you're smiling when you're smiling the whole world smiles with you...but when you're crying, you bring on the rain. So quit your crying. Be happy again."
Admittedly probably no one takes parenting advice from song lyrics.
Yet do you recall being told, "Don't cry!" Most often when a parent or caregiver says this to a child, they are saying it with love, with the best of intentions.
Sure, there are times when we hear, "Don't be a baby, quit your crying!" But more so we hear, "Don't cry, honey, I am right here. Don't cry." And we say this to little ones because we love them so much! And it hurts us to see them hurting.
But letting your little one cry can be the best thing sometimes. It validates their feelings and helps them develop socially and emotionally.
Check out this helpful resource from Penn State.
And this is a helpful resource for kids themselves.

Here is a list of books from the NYC Public School System addressing children's emotions.  

And a great article from the National Association for the Education of the Young Child can be found here.  

And some great books recommended by the Milwaukee Coalition for Children's Mental Health.

To put the book Big Boys Cry on hold, visit here.  You will find a link to the book Why Do We Cry here.

Watch the show again right here.