The Crying Down Method

If you are trying to help your baby to sleep in his own cot or room for the first time, or simply trying to instil a pattern of regular sleeping, or cure wrong sleep associations, you may have heard of the ‘crying down’ method of sleep training. Based on advice from leading pediatrician, Richard Ferber, this method involves using controlled crying to help your baby learn to send himself off to sleep.

What is ‘controlled crying’?

The first, and most important, thing to remember is that no one should be telling you to ignore your baby’s cries. If your baby is hungry or sick, distressed or has a soiled diaper, you must deal with the situation immediately. The crying down method is used only to help babies learn how to send themselves off to sleep without the use of excessive interventions from the parents.

How does the crying down method work?

Ferber recommends using the method on babies of between 4 and 6 months old. It is considered that a baby is physically and emotionally ready to learn how to sooth and comfort himself to sleep at this stage. Parents are advised to follow a loving bedtime routine, with a bath and a feed, cuddles and perhaps a bedtime story, before putting their baby down to sleep.

The key to the crying down method is putting your baby down in his cot when he is still awake. If he falls asleep while feeding it is best to rouse him gently first. After a kiss goodnight, leave him alone to go to sleep.

If your baby cries (and if you are using this method the chances are your baby does cry when you leave him to go to sleep alone), Ferber suggests the parent goes back into the room after a certain period of time to check on, and verbally comfort, the baby. Verbal comfort can be sshhhhing or comforting words, but the baby should not be picked up or fed.

The parent waits for progressively longer periods of time before going back to check on their baby, until the baby learns to go to sleep alone. The association learnt is that the parent is around to comfort him, so he is safe, but as nothing happens (such as rocking or feeding) when he cries, he might as well just go to sleep!

How well does the method work?

Ferber’s methods are incredibly popular and have earned him ‘expert’ status in the field of solving babies’ sleep problems. As the technique is always geared to whatever the parent is comfortable with, it is an effective, but relatively stress-free, method of sleep training. If your baby has yet to pick up any negative sleep associations, or you catch him early enough, this method can help a baby go to sleep alone in a matter of days - even if he has never slept in his own room before, or by himself!

More Baby Sleep

You might also be interested in:

Read our Diary Of A New Mum and discover what happens when Jessica-Ann comes home from the hospital and during her first year at home. This fun read is perfect for new mums and experienced mums alike! New episodes weekly.
Diary Of A New Mum

More about Newborn Babies

Back to AV Baby home

	Don't miss...
	Thanksgiving
	St Andrew's Day
	Advent
	Hanukkah
	Christmas
	Kwanzaa
	Winter
	Shidonni

Dislaimer
AV Baby content is for information only. If you are at all worried about your baby, please seek the advice of your midwife, doctor or paediatrician.

A Small Publishing Website    Contact Us    Sudoku for Kids   Privacy Policy

These pages are property of Activity Village and are for personal, classroom and library use only