6. Boredom. Your infant cries if it is bored. Try to play with it, change its toys, put on some music, start singing or whatever you think will stimulate your child.

7. Stress. Your infant is stressed if you are stressed. An easy solution would be: do not stress but since we live in real world: Try to stimulate child.

8. Fussy environment. The best example of fuzzy environment is family gatherings where everybody wants to talk to infant and everybody is talking at same time. Hey, I want to scream at most family gatherings. Big changes in daily routines might also give same symptoms. Solution: carry your infant ion your arms. I know: theory, theory… It is easy to get frustrated when your arms gets tired and you are unable to perform any other tasks than carry baby.

The eight reasons listed above will very often result in eight different sound of crying. You will make your life much easier if you take time to learn differences. Other ways to calm down your baby are: give your baby a massage, give your baby a bath, rock your baby, play some calming music, let your baby listen to white noise… You can read more about this on our website.

In my next article, I will discuss “unhealthy reason” for infant crying, until then: hang on out there...

Sincerely, F.P. Larson

F.P. Larson is an associate writer for Calm Your Screaming Baby ( http://www.calm-your-screaming-baby.com/ ), a resource site for parents of infants.

-- I look for teachable moments to teach my kids strong values. _A _B _C_D _F

-- I try to role model healthy, moral choices for my children. _A _B _C_D _F

-- I don't withhold affection, praise or attention from my child as punishment. _A _B _C _D _F

-- I don't put unrealistic expectations on my children. _A _B _C _D _F

-- I discipline in love, not in anger. _A _B _C _D _F

-- I let my children know they are loved unconditionally and without qualification. _A _B _C _D _F

A statement that has stayed with me for a long time is "Rules without Relationship = Rebellion." Creating and maintaining lasting, deep, trusting relationships with our children is not quick, and it is not easy. But is it worth it? I think you know answer.

There are definitely areas I need to improve in as a parent. How about you? Like our children, we will get another report card. If you need to improve in some areas, take some time to work on them. And as Diana Ennen of VirtualWordPublishing.com states, "Remember every step you take to improve is a step in right direction. Just keep taking those steps continually and you'll see results."

One thing I make sure to tell my children often is that there is absolutely nothing they can do to make me love them any less. Sure, they can cause me to be disappointed, very disappointed, and even angry. But my love for them will never lessen. And my kids know that. To me, that deserves an "A".