Ferber Changes Stance on "Crying it Out"
Wednesday November 16, 2005
ABC News reports that author Richard Ferber has changed his tune when it comes to letting babies cry it out. He's the author of Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems and he's been touting this advice to parents for over 20 years. In the book, he advocates leaving babies alone in their cribs for up to 45 minutes without parental comfort or reassurance. In a revised version coming out next year, however, he will offer alternatives to this method.
→ Should I Let my Baby Cry it Out?
→ How Do I Get my Baby to Sleep Through the Night?
→ Regular Naps Improve Sleep at Night
→ Help for Babies that Wake Frequently for Feedings
Personally, I lean more toward the advice of parenting authors like William Sears or Elizabeth Pantley who suggest kinder, gentler methods of getting babies to sleep. Some of Pantley's articles are here on the site and might offer sleepless parents a way to solve sleep problems without resorting to lengthy cry-it-out sessions.
→ Should I Let my Baby Cry it Out?
→ How Do I Get my Baby to Sleep Through the Night?
→ Regular Naps Improve Sleep at Night
→ Help for Babies that Wake Frequently for Feedings
Comments
I read Ferber and used a modified form of his method and it worked beautifully for my 6 month-old son. Nowhere in the book did I read that a child should be left uncomforted for as long as 45 minutes. This sounds like an exaggeration and misrepresentation. His methods saved my sanity and both my children are now excellent, independent sleepers.