There are several different approaches to sleep-training, but they all involve teaching a child to go to sleep by themselves. Usually this is done by leaving the child along for an increasing amount of time. On the other end of the scale, parents will remain physically close to their child, hugging them, until they fall asleep naturally.

 

Which method is best? Increasingly research is pointing towards the hugging approach. Indeed, new research from Penn State University in the US suggests that children with warm and responsive parents woke less in the night and found it easier to doze off than those with more distant parents. 

 

The research was carried out by Dr Douglas Teti who suggests that parents who hug would be unlikely to want to try a “cry-it-out” method. He remarks that: “An emotionally available parent would probably not let their baby cry it out. Quite frankly, there aren’t too many researchers that advocate that any more. I don’t want to diss sleep-training programs per se, but the way we construed emotional availability is that an emotionally available parent is not a parent who is going to abandon a child at night and let the child cry it out.”

 

The name most associated with sleep training, is that of Dr Richard Ferber, who has even given a verb to sleep training, to Ferberize. However, even Dr Ferber has had to up date his methods as new research has come to light. In the preface of the 2006 edition of his manual he states: “Simply leaving a child in a crib to cry for long periods alone until he falls sleep, no matter how long it takes, is not an approach I approve of.”

 

A parenting guru from Britain, Penelope Leach, has even added a physiological element to the argument. She claims that children who cry alone, uncomforted, secrete the stress hormone cortisol which can have permanent negative effects on children’s brains.

 

The children psychologist Aletha Solter has suggested that leaving a child to cry along can cause insecurity, tantrums, panic attacks and lack of self-confidence at an older age. She recommends holding a child whilst they cry their stress away, co-sleeping and remaining with a child until they fall asleep naturally. 

 

Of course, sleep training has benefits for the parent, they don’t have to remain with the child and can just close the door and get back to their busy lives. It’s for each parent to determine where their balance is between the well-being of their child and their own personal needs. From the point of view of ConnectionZen, it’s important to understand that taking an easier approach when a child is younger can cause more problems later. Holding and comforting your child strengthens your bond with them so you’ll be a happier family when they are young and older.

 

Source: globeandmail.com, The Aware Baby
Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ingamun/793815299