There is no hard-and-fast rule as to how long you should leave crying after nighttime awakenings, but there is a solid consensus that running to your child every time they cry (oftentimes, they're not even awake when crying) is not a good idea. Experts recommend waiting 2-10 minutes before intervening, but new studies suggest that letting your baby cry out and learn how to soothe itself to sleep can be the most beneficial. However, this goes against the common wisdom that crying is stressful for the child - and doesn't consider the stress it causes on parents.