Whatever you try, remember, some babies, no matter what you do, are not reliably good sleepers. But there are also parents who find the idea of letting a baby cry at night unduly harsh. Bedtime fading, in which parents delay bedtime in 15-minute increments so the child becomes more and more tired.Īnd many parents report that these strategies improve their children’s sleep patterns, as well as their own.Graduated extinction, in which babies are allowed to cry for short, prescribed intervals over the course of several nights.Those who believe in sleep training, including many sleep experts, would argue that in helping babies learn to fall asleep by themselves and soothe themselves back to sleep when they wake during the night, parents are helping them master vital skills for comfort and independence. There are two general schools of thought around babies and sleep after those early months when they need nighttime feedings - soothe the baby to sleep or don’t - and many parents find themselves wavering back and forth.
And parents, too, vary in terms of how they cope with interrupted nights. Right from the beginning, babies vary tremendously in their sleep patterns. Do your best, trust yourself and enjoy the company of the small person in your life. Remember, there is no one right way to raise a child. Calibrate your expectations about what your child is capable of doing independently, whether you have an infant learning to sleep through the night, a toddler helping to put toys away, or an older child resolving conflicts. Help your child learn through experience that making an effort builds confidence and helps you learn to tackle challenges. How do you find the right balance?Īs your child develops, the challenges will change, and your thinking may evolve, but your approach should be consistent, firm and loving. You want to be supportive, but not a hovering, helicopter parent.Īll of these things are easy to set as goals, but hard to achieve. You want your child to listen, respect and trust you rather than fear you. Research tells us that to raise a self-reliant child with high self-esteem, it is more effective to be authoritative than authoritarian.
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