Methods For Teaching Your Baby To Sleep Through The Night

Teaching a baby to sleep through the night is difficult for most parents. Each child is unique, and families must adapt the techniques they use to their own child’s needs.

Sometimes you may even find that opposite techniques can be effective during different time periods.

In general , specialists recommend introducing sleeping routines to a baby during its fourth month of life. However, the right time may vary from case to case.

Some babies sleep for several hours in a row from a very young age while others have more difficulty with it.

General advice to help your baby sleep through the night

There are two completely opposite theories regarding helping your child get a good night’s sleep.

First, you should familiarize yourself with some common rules of thumb that can help your child develop good sleep habits.

• The whole family must agree on which method to use. If a mother decides to let the baby cry for a few minutes, no one else should go to pick her up.

• Establish specific sleep times and stick to that schedule. Otherwise, your child will be far too tired at bedtime and then have a harder time relaxing.
• Repeat the same routine every night before bed. It can mean giving your child a bath, reading a book, singing a song, massaging his back, etc.
• Try to get your baby to fall asleep early. If you wait too long, he gets too irritated and has difficulty falling asleep.
• Avoid quarrels between adults or siblings around bedtime as young children can be affected by this tension.

Experts are constantly examining methods and discussing the best conditions for teaching a child to sleep through the night, but they still have not agreed. This is because there is no one-size-fits-all solution.

Some parents get the best results with a certain technology while other families are happy with others.

Methods for teaching your baby to sleep

• Fall asleep without crying

This is probably the most desirable scenario for all parents. It is difficult to see their children crying, for whatever reason.

William Sears is a pediatrician who founded The No-Cry Sleep Solution (in Swedish “fall asleep without crying”). He bases his ideas on the concept that children should associate sleep with positive experiences and emotions.

If your baby manages to associate sleep with warmth and love, he will be able to sleep peacefully through the night.

According to the method, you should take your baby to bed as soon as he is about to start falling asleep. Try to avoid even the quietest sounds. Rock the baby if needed.

Give a pacifier or bottle while gently stroking the baby. It is important for him to feel safe – something that is a very important part of the method.

Another suggestion is that the parents should sleep with the child. What matters most is that the child associates this moment with comfort and safety.

The method takes a long time and the teaching takes place at a gradual pace. Slowly, your child begins to wake up less often during the night and going to bed becomes a pleasant experience.

• The crying out methods

At the other end of the spectrum are those who argue that one must make a child cry in order for it to learn to sleep through the night on its own. 

With this method, children adapt to sleeping routines much faster. However, the process requires a lot of patience and discipline.

Doctor Richard Ferber confirms that a child must learn to calm their own fears in order to learn to sleep through the night. To achieve this, the child should be placed in a cot while he is still awake.

If the baby starts to cry, you can go forward and give a few caresses on the back without picking it up. Then leave the room.

Letting your baby cry for a few minutes does not cause any harm. Seeing their mother or father will make the child feel safe. After a few tears, your baby will fall asleep.

• The fading method

This method is a midpoint between the previous two. The goal is to teach the child to calm down, but in a more gradual way.

The child should be put to bed while he is still awake and a parent should stay by the child’s side until he falls asleep.

Piece by piece, the parents should place themselves further away from the child, or spend less time on the side. In this way, the child gets used to falling asleep on its own, without the need for company.

There are endless sleeping methods and specialists who offer a wide range of advice. The most important thing, however, is that the parents are flexible enough to switch between one or more methods if necessary. 

One technique can work with one child but not with another. It’s about seeing what works for you and not being overwhelmed. Sooner or later you will get the results you want.