Dr. Willough Jenkins, a board-certified psychiatrist specializing in child psychiatry, is revealing the most common parenting mistake she sees — telling your kids to stop crying.

Experts listen for "sad notes" to see if they're really a thing kids pick up on. Fact checked by Sarah Scott Fact checked by Sarah Scott As adults, we have some level of certainty as to why ...

Why we cry when we're sad, happy or stressed 05:08. ... Parents know kids can seemingly cry over nothing, but Saltz said there's good reason not to shut down children's tears immediately.

“Besides [watching] a Disney movie, my kids hadn't really seen me cry that often in life. And so I just realized it was really important to allow them to see those moments,” she says.

Kids pick up on facial cues, so having something that obscures expressions can be upsetting. Child development experts believe kids are most apprehensive over strangers—and thus Santa—between ...