Sleep Training Myths Debunked

I have been around the sleeping training world for quite some time now. I’ve seen controversial threads about sleep training on baby forums, read misleading articles on the web, and have seen false advice being dispersed by so called “experts”. Heck, I’ve recently read a blog post that warns parents not to sleep train because “it’s dangerous, it doesn’t work, and you risk losing your baby’s trust”, among other crazy things. The author of this particular post goes on to say that it’s not fair to leave your child alone to cry in a dark room….wait a minute….who said sleep training means you have to leave your child alone to cry!?! Did the author just confuse cry it out with the term sleep training?? Oh boy….I’ve got a lot of work to do. I’m pretty sure it was that exact article that sparked me to write this, so that I can clear up any misinformation that is being given to parents. Either that, or the comment on the BabyCenter by one mom who said “training is for dogs”

So let’s do this! Let’s talk about all the myths, misconceptions, and false information that’s confusing the heck out of parents. Here are the craziest sleep training myths I have come across thus far.

Myth 1 : Sleep training is the same thing as cry it out

No, no, no…. and NO! Sleep training is not synonymous with cry it out. Sleep training is the process of helping your baby get to sleep and stay asleep. In other words, when you are sleep training you are simply teaching your baby good sleep habits so that your baby can easily fall asleep, and sleep well at night. How you do that is entirely up to you, but it does not have to be by leaving your baby alone in the dark to cry her little head off. So you wonder, “Why on earth did people start confusing cry it out, with sleep training?” Well, for a long time, the only way people knew to get their baby to sleep through the night, was by letting them cry it out or what’s referred to as “Ferberizing”. I want parents to be clear on this, cry it out is just one of many sleep training techniques. I “sleep trained” my babies using techniques that didn’t involve leaving them alone to cry. So the next time your friends talk about sleep training and cry it out in the same sentence, inform them…sleep training is not the same thing as cry it out. Here are some No Tears Methods of Sleep Training.

Myth 2: Training is for dogs, not for babies

Ummm….what!?! I think the word “training” is what really gets people’s panties up in a bunch. I agree, it’s not a great term to use for a sweet little baby. When you think of training, you think of training a dog. If you don’t want to view it as such, then think of it as coaching, teaching, or guiding your baby to sleep. Whatever term you use, won’t change the fact that if your baby is having sleep troubles, some sort of training, coaching, or teaching will need to be done. As humans we are born to learn skills and evolve into fully functioning human beings. Think about all the skills that we as parents teach our children: How to use a sippy cup, to how to eat with a fork, how take first steps, how to use the potty, to ride a bike, to jump rope, and the list goes on. Sure, you don’t have to help your child with any of that. And perhaps one day your child will learn to do these things completely on their own. But as parents, yes we are here to “train”, help, teach, and guide our children with these skills. And sleep is just as important, if not most important of all things that a parent should help with. Because without good sleep, everything else will be very difficult to accomplish.

Myth 3: You don’t have to train a baby to sleep, they are born with the natural ability to do so

Yes and no. Sure a baby knows how to fall asleep from the moment they are born, but Continue reading….