Q: Theory of cry it out?
Posted
Wednesday, January 30, 2008 9:47 PM
Q: What exactly is the theory behind cry it out and why it works? Even though I know it works, it does feel a little cruel.
Dr. Jodi Mindell, PhD: I
don't like the term "cry it out." To parents, this means "put the baby
in the crib, lock the door, and leave them alone." No one does that --
it's impossible. I like to call the method "sleep training."
The whole point of sleep training is to have babies learn to self-soothe and put themselves to sleep. It's not about teaching them you won't come if they scream. The important thing is that they fall asleep on their own -- it's a habit and a skill. If you never put a baby in their crib awake, they'll never learn to fall asleep on their own.
And remember, wake naturally anywhere between two and six times during the night. If they learn to put themselves back to sleep at bedtime, they'll be able to do it at one a.m. After a few weeks of sleep training, they'll naturally be sleeping through the night.
As long as your baby is loved and nurtured and cared for during the day, a few nights of crying for half an hour won't lead to any problems. Your baby probably cries that much during the day anyways, even if you are responding.
Dr. Jodi Mindell, PhD, is the author of Sleeping Through The Night: How Infants, Toddlers and Their Parents Can Get a Good Night's Sleep, and the Associate Director of the Sleep Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.