Topics:

Can you spoil a baby?

Carrying and responding to your baby will not make her fussier

Teresa Pitman,

Originally published in Today's Parent December 2008

Send
Share

Alison Stalker started getting lectures even before her daughter, Kira, was born. “When I was pregnant, I mentioned to my doctor that we were thinking of getting one of those ‘side-car’ attachments for our bed as a place for the baby to sleep,” she explains. “She flipped out and told me that was a huge mistake because it would make the baby way too dependent on me.”

Once Kira was born, every doctor’s appointment seemed to involve more criticism of Stalker’s parenting. “She said I was spoiling her by feeding her every time she wanted and should put Kira on a four-hour schedule. When I said that would mean hours of crying, the doctor told me Kira would get used to it,” recalls Stalker. “Everyone would be happier if I just let her cry it out.”

Subscribe to Today's Parent for just $14.95* That's only $1.25 an issue!