I know this may be a controversial issue, but I just have to say that I’m a fan for sleep training.

Yes, it’s hard in the beginning.  However, at least for us and our kids, three nights is the longest it has taken for any of our children.

Process

The first sleep training was the hardest, but that’s probably more to do with the fact that we were new parents and didn’t know if we were doing the right thing.

When we started sleep training, I would nurse and cuddle them until they were almost asleep for nap time.  Then I would put them in their bed.  Nap time was usually easier than bedtime.

At bedtime, we would put them down after we did our bedtime routine.  If they started to cry, we would let them cry for 5 minutes, then go in and rub their head and recover  them up.  If they started crying again, we would wait 10 minutes to rub their head and recover them up.  We would continue this pattern, adding 5 minutes between each visit until they fell asleep.  I believe the longest we had to do this was for 45 minutes.  Each night the duration got shorter and after three nights, they were trained.  If they did cry after the 3 days, they were done before 5 minutes was over.

No I Don’t …

I do not think this has caused any psychological damage to any of my children.  I do not think it has strained my relationship with any of my children either.

Yes!

I do know that it taught my children to self soothe, which is a vital life skill.  It also taught them how to fall asleep on their own.  It is also very nice when you have other people putting your children to bed, they know what to expect and usually will go to bed without a fight.

I do think sleep training is worth it.  I am oftentimes very grateful for sleep training.  It’s very nice to be able to put my child down to sleep.  After they reach 6 months, I’ve noticed that our children sleep so much better when they fall asleep on their own in their own bed!

More Info

Here are links to other articles about sleep training:

The Basics

Age by Age

Ferber

Huffington Post

iVillage

Weissbluth Method

I have not read these books, but they may be worth the read

[amazon_enhanced asin=”0449004023″ /] [amazon_enhanced asin=”0071381392″ /] [amazon_enhanced asin=”0743201639″ /]

[amazon_enhanced asin=”0757305601″ /] [amazon_enhanced asin=”0062113321″ /] [amazon_enhanced asin=”B00E9F3WAW” /]

[amazon_enhanced asin=”1593155581″ /] [amazon_enhanced asin=”B00H54IZOC” /] [amazon_enhanced asin=”0071444912″ /]

We may not all agree on this issue and that’s ok.  Let’s be civil in our comments please.  Comments are moderated and have to be approved!