ICON Week 2026 - Exploring the psychology behind finding your calm and coping with crying

In this ICON Week webinar, psychotherapist Jacqueline Lane explores infant crying and parental stress through the lens of fathers’ experiences. Drawing on attachment, evolution, brain development and the nervous system, Jackie examines what can happen when a baby’s distress and a parent’s stress begin to escalate together. The session challenges assumptions about fathers’ ability to bond and care, highlighting how hands-on caregiving helps build confidence, connection and responsive parenting. The webinar offers practical ways to help dads recognise early signs of escalation, understand their own responses, create a personal soothing plan, and use the ICON message: put the baby somewhere safe, step away, calm down, ask for support and return when regulated. A key message throughout is that the aim is not to stop every cry or be a perfect parent, but to recognise when stress is rising and choose safe, supportive action for both baby and caregiver.