10-07-2025
- Health
- South China Morning Post
Why won't your baby stop crying? Genetics, not just parenting, play big part, study finds
How much a baby torments its parents with its cries is determined not just by parenting techniques by also by genes, new research has shown.
After a study on hundreds of twins, a team of scientists in Sweden has concluded that how long a
baby cries for is largely determined by genetic factors.
The child's sleep quality and ability to be soothed during its first few months are also influenced by genetic predisposition.
'For parents, it may be a comfort to know that their child's crying is largely explained by genetics, and that they themselves have limited options to influence how much their child cries,' said study leader Charlotte Viktorsson, from Uppsala University in Sweden.
A study on the sleep quality and crying duration in infants found twins woke up less frequently than single children. Photo: Shutterstock
The team's analysis was based on questionnaires completed by the parents of 998 same-sex identical or fraternal twins when the children were two months and five months old.
