Crying it out involves putting a child to bed at a set bed time and then ignoring the child's cries until a set time the next morning. While this method has been documented as successful in resolving settling issues it is seldom an acceptable choice for parents who must listen to their distressed child crying.
One study showed that although the child cries for a prolonged period there is no memory of this and perhaps the child cries for so long that they forget why they were crying. Other children may cry until they vomit, which is even more distressing for the parent. Parents are naturally concerned about the effects of this "treatment" on the child's emotional and psychological development. Feeling that this is unnatural and goes against the parents natural desire to comfort the child, makes this harsh type of "treatment" difficult to administer and difficult to be consistent with.
There are many other ways to resolve this issue. Allowing a child to become and remain distressed for a period of time does not teach the child to learn to soothe themselves to sleep and this is one of the most valuable lessons we can offer our children.
If you have tried, or are considering using this method to get your child to sleep, be assured there are other techniques which are very effective and much kinder to parent and child.
If you struggle to get your child to self soothe to sleep Contact Dream-Angus.com we can help you to help your child improve their sleep pattern.
Posts
