Leaving babies to cry ‘can stunt brain development’

THE battle of the baby gurus has reawakened with research claiming that leaving little ones to cry themselves to sleep can stunt their brain development.

Veteran parenting expert, Penelope Leach, makes the claim in her latest book which will have devotees of newer authorities such as Gina Ford chewing their security blankets in anxiety.

Ford has made her name over the past decade with her Contented Little Baby guides, which promote rigid routines for infants, including the controversial technique of controlled crying that involves leaving babies to cry for set lengths of time in order to teach them to fall asleep by themselves.