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Newsweek
08-07-2025
- Health
- Newsweek
You Can Do Everything Right, but Your Baby Might Still Cry—Now We Know Why
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Struggling to soothe a crying baby can be debilitating, but new research suggests it might be more out of parents' control than they think. A new Swedish twin study has found that how much an infant cries is largely determined by genetics—not parenting style, feeding choices or bedtime routines. The findings, published in the journal JCPP Advances, offer a fresh perspective to exhausted parents wondering what they could be doing differently. Mother holding and kissing crying baby boy. Mother holding and kissing crying baby boy. Ben Bloom Researchers from Uppsala University and the Karolinska Institutet studied more than 1,000 twins across Sweden, collecting data from parents when the infants were two months old and again at five months. By comparing identical twins (who share 100 percent of their genes) with fraternal twins (who share roughly 50 percent), the team was able to assess the relative impact of genetics and environment on infant behavior. The researchers found that crying is largely genetically determined. "At the age of two months, the children's genetics explain about 50 percent of how much they cry. At five months of age, genetics explain up to 70 percent," said lead author Charlotte Viktorsson, a postdoctoral fellow in psychology. In other words, a baby's tendency to cry might have more to do with their DNA than anything a parent does—or doesn't—do. "For parents, it may be a comfort to know that their child's crying is largely explained by genetics," Viktorsson added, and essentially, there are limits to how much parents can influence it. The remaining percentage, researchers found, was attributed to the "unique environment"—factors specific to each child that weren't clearly captured in the questionnaires, such as subtle differences in care or external stimuli. The study also looked at nighttime awakenings and how long babies took to fall asleep. In these areas, genetics were less influential—especially in the early months. At two months, how quickly a baby settled to sleep was mainly influenced by environmental factors. By five months, genetics played a slightly larger role, reflecting infants' rapid development. Interestingly, the number of times a baby woke during the night appeared to be driven almost entirely by environmental factors. "This reflects the rapid development that occurs in infants, and may indicate that parents' efforts in getting their child to settle may have the greatest impact in the first months," Viktorsson said. The researchers are continuing to follow the twins through age three to better understand how sleep and crying evolve in early childhood. Do you have a tip on a health story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about parenting? Let us know via health@ Reference Viktorsson, C., Yahia, A., Taylor, M. J., Ronald, A., Tammimies, K., & Falck-Ytter, T. (n.d.). Genetic and environmental influences on sleep quality, ability to settle, and crying duration in 2- and 5-month-old infants: A longitudinal twin study. JCPP Advances.
Daily Mail
08-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Some babies really are born fussy, expert reveals - and there's not much parents can do about it
If you've ever wondered why your newborn seems hardwired to cry for hours while your friend's baby settles easily, new research suggests the answer might lie in their genes. Researchers have discovered that DNA accounts for a large portion of how much babies cry and how easily they calm down. The findings might provide some reassurance for exhausted families, who feel like they've tried everything to get their youngster to settle. However, it suggests that not much can be done to combat the issue. The team, from Uppsala University in Sweden, tracked 998 twins at two months and five months old. By comparing identical twins, who share 100 per cent of their DNA, with fraternal twins, who share around half of their DNA, they were able to separate genetic influences from environmental ones. The researchers asked parents questions about the children's sleep, crying and ability to settle. Their analysis, published in the journal JCPP Advances, revealed that at the age of five months genetic factors explained up to 70 per cent of the differences in crying duration among babies. Dr Charlotte Viktorsson, postdoctoral fellow in psychology and lead author of the study, said: 'What we found was that crying is largely genetically determined. 'At the age of two months, the children's genetics explain about 50 per cent of how much they cry. At five months of age, genetics explain up to 70 per cent of the variation. '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.' The study found a baby's ability to settle down was also largely determined by their DNA, accounting for up to 67 per cent of the variation between infants. 'How rapidly the infant settled was primarily due to the environment at two months of age, but by five months their genetics had gained some significance,' Dr Viktorsson explained. 'This reflects the rapid development that occurs in infants, and may indicate that parents' efforts in getting their child to settle may have the greatest impact in the first months.' However, genetics played less of a role when it came to how many times the children woke up during the night. This was mainly influenced by environmental factors, they discovered, such as sleep routines and the environment in which the child sleeps. Researchers from the RIKEN Centre for Brain Science in Japan claim that the trick to soothe a crying infant is carrying them in your arms for five minutes, then sitting with them in your arms for five to eight minutes, before placing them in their crib A study has previously claimed to have the 'recipe' to lull a baby to sleep - and it's surprisingly simple. From offering a pacifier to desperately singing lullabies, most exhausted parents will go to any lengths to get their baby to stop crying. But researchers from the RIKEN Centre for Brain Science in Japan claim that the trick to soothe a crying infant is to carry them in your arms for five minutes, then sit with them in your arms for five to eight minutes, before placing them in their cot. The team hopes the method will provide an immediate solution for crying infants, although they're unsure whether it will improve sleep in the long-term.
