Here's Why You Should Let Your Baby Cry-It-Out To Sleep
No, it doesn't make you a bad parent.
22 June 2017
Parenthood doesn’t come with an instructional manual, so most of the new parents experiment their way through various aspects of parenting, especially their baby’s sleep.
Ask any new parent and they would give their right arm for a glorious night of uninterrupted sleep yet — at the same time — they would shudder at the thought of letting their baby cry-it-out to sleep.
What is Crying-it-out
Crying it out or fiberizing is a sleep training method, popularised by Dr Richard Ferber, to teach a baby to soothe him or herself to sleep.
The method — often called cruel, damaging and brutal — involves putting babies to bed while still awake and leaving them there even if they cry. Sounds harsh, but the crying is in a controlled environment.
After regulated intervals, parents can go in and soothe their child without picking them up. After a few days of training, the baby learns to self-soothe and fall asleep on his/her own.
CIO might sound cruel but there’s a new study by Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia that proves the effectiveness of the method, without causing stress or lasting emotional problems for babies.
The three-month study found at that babies who were put through the cry-it-out method were falling asleep almost 15 minutes faster than babies who had no training.
Should you try the cry-it-out (CIO) method?
Doctors suggest that when trying out CIO, parents should pay close attention to their baby's temperament, developmental stage, and usual sleep patterns.
The common time frame to see the desired results of CIO is within 3-7 days in younger children. If the method isn't working or if there's an abnormal amount of crying then experts suggest eliminating the medical problem before starting any sleep training regime.
The most important factor to note is that every baby is different and may react to the method in different ways.
Their ability to self-soothe is a variable factor proportional to their age, personality and your ability to differentiate their needs from their wants.
Once you're confident that you and your baby are ready, you'll be able to determine if crying it out does the job for you or not.
