Controlled Crying – Good or Bad?
Other Things Parents Can Do To Promote Sleep:
METHOD 1: Pick up, put down
- Watch for your baby’s sleepy signs” yawning, eye-rubbing and general crankiness.
- Put her/him in the cot while (s)he’s drowsy but awake.
- If (s)he cries, pick her/him up and comfort her/him with a ’sshhh’ until (s)he stops crying, then put her/him down.
- Continue with picking her up if s/he gets upset. Eventually s/he’ll realise that you’ll put her/him down once s/he’s calm, and s/he’ll learn to fall asleep by her/himself. S/he’ll begin to associate the ’sshhh’ sound with sleep so that if s/he wakes the sound alone should work.
METHOD 2: Controlled comforting
This is a compromised 'controlled crying' technique
- Put your baby in her/his cot awake, then leave. Wait outside for 2 minutes to see if s/he settles.
- If s/he doesn’t settle, go back in and lay her/him on her/his side, facing away from you. When s/he starts to cry, place one hand on her/his shoulder and use the other to pat her/his bottom, saying, ‘It’s time to sleep’. If s/he stops crying, stop patting. Give her/him 2 minutes of this attention.
- If after that your baby hasn’t fallen asleep, wait outside for 4 minutes. If s/he doesn’t settle, go in and repeat the process, this time for 4 minutes.
- Extend the time spent comforting and leaving her/him alone to settle by 2 minutes each time. When s/he falls asleep, gently roll her/him on to her/him back. If s/he doesn’t settle within an hour, offer her/him a feed and a cuddle, then start again.
- It is a good compromise for those who can’t handle controlled crying.
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