By:ZerotoThree
What is “Crying It Out”?
There are different ways to think about helping babies learn to fall asleep on their own.
Methods 1:Graduated crying-it-out (often called the “Ferber method”) is when parents put their baby down after a bedtime routine and let the baby cry until they fall asleep. Parents check on the baby, waiting longer and longer periods of time before going in the room, starting at 2 minutes and gradually moving up to 30 minutes. (Experts recommend parents not pick up or talk to the baby when they go in the baby’s room.) This routine is repeated until the baby falls asleep independently.
Method 2:Bedtime fading: Parents shift a baby’s bedtime later by 10~15 minutes each night so the baby is tired at bedtime. When the baby reaches a point where he falls asleep soon after being put down, that becomes “bedtime.”
What does the research say?
Method 1:Both graduated crying-it-out and bedtime fading helped babies fall asleep faster, compared to babies whose parents who received information about infant sleep (but not specific strategies).
Method 2:Mothers who used graduated crying-it-out or bedtime fading showed less stress than moms who just received sleep information, but not strategies.
Method 3:Families using graduated crying-it-out also found that their babies were less likely to wake during the night.
Method 4:The choice of a bedtime strategy does not impact a baby’s relationship with parents. Parents don’t “damage” their relationship with their babies by using graduated crying-it-out.
What’s the takeaway?
Learning to fall asleep is a new skill for babies. They often fuss and cry as a normal part of this early learning. Short periods of crying help babies learn to settle down, fall asleep, and master the skill of falling asleep.
Some babies have a harder time than others learning to fall asleep on their own. Sleep challenges are probably one of the hardest parts of early parenting.
When babies regularly receive loving, responsive care throughout the day, sleep training is not harmful to their brain development or to their relationship with parents.
