Have you ever noticed sometimes when babies fall and it startles them they don’t cry until they see the adult react? You hear a thud and look over to see the baby, dazed and maybe rubbing their head. They look at you, you look at them. Sometimes just the eye contact can set them off. Other times you smile and say, “You’re ok!” and they get back up and go back to playing.
Up until recently my niece, 19 months old, would cry at the slightest provocation. It was like dropping a toy or being told “no” would hurt her feelings. She had these huge tears that fell from her eyes and it was so heart breaking. (Pretty normal.) I have recently noticed that she’s starting to outgrow this.
Now she might bump her head or drop something or trip and she sits there for a second stunned, but she doesn’t cry. She keeps playing. It is definitely not because she’s been ignored when she cries, this isn’t a sleep training “cry it out” incident. I like to think this is normal development.
The other day she hit me in the face when she was excited and it hurt, I told her, “Ouch! We don’t hit with our toys, that really hurt.” And she got really close to me, and stared into my face. Then she gave me a hug and gently touched my nose. Watching her little brain at work is so fun and rewarding.
Redheaded Jill 
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