Baby cries hysterically whenever I put them down
Babies with extreme separation anxiety cry hysterically and start coughing the moment a parent moves more than a few inches away, forcing constant holding. This relentless neediness drains parents physically and emotionally, leaving them with chronic physical strain and a feeling that nothing works.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Baby-wearing or carrying the child into every room
- 2Placing the baby in a bouncer nearby while doing chores
- 3Playing peek-a-boo and practicing brief separations
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“My 8 month old baby girl is extremely needy, she has always been. She constantly wants to be held or right next to me.”source ↗
“She will hysterically cry and she won’t stop. She will cry so hard that she starts coughing.”source ↗
“The hysterical crying is what’s really getting to us.”source ↗
“If I’m more than 18 inches away my 8 month old has hysterics. Every. Single. Time.”source ↗
“My back was all knots for years. It is hard. Nothing worked.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 3Why won't my baby eat meals or sleep for naps?
- 2How to keep a crawling baby safely contained while doing chores
- 6How to handle an extremely intense, high-energy puppy?
- 3How to get a baby to sleep after stopping the swaddle
- 3Why won't my baby nap anywhere except being held?
- 9Why won't my baby sleep in the crib?