Ferber, Sears, Weissbluth - A Triangular Controversy on Baby, Toddler Sleep/raymondparenting.com

Blog » Ferber, Sears, Weissbluth - A Triangular Controversy on Baby, Toddler Sleep

Ferber, Sears, Weissbluth - A Triangular Controversy on Baby, Toddler Sleep

Posted May 26, 2011

Dr William Sears advocates the family bed for babies and toddlers and endorses "night time parenting." Mark Weissbluth advises parents of babies that allowing their child to cry is an effective baby sleep training method but to wait until 9 months or more before removing night feedings. Richard Ferber suggests that babies will cry during sleep training but parents should enter the room to comfort the baby after 5 minutes, then 10 minutes, then 15 minutes, etc. Who is right? Do all these methods work equally well? What does the research on children's sleep tell us?

While these men are well educated and no doubt well-intentioned, their main way of communicating advice to parents is through the books each one has written on sleep training methods for children. Parenting books are a good vehicle to diseminate information but a parent never has a chance to ask a question. What if I don't want a Sears - style family bed? Will my baby have an insecure attachment as a result? Why does Weissbluth say to wait until 9 months before I stop overnight feedings? What is Ferber's answer if my baby doesn't stop crying after the 15 minutes and, in fact, cries harder every time I enter the room?

Parents who are desperate for a good night's sleep for their baby or toddler and therefore for the whole family, require research-based information that is easily tailored to their children's ages and the family situation. The best sleep training method for them should rank high for effectiveness in pediatric sleep journals, be quickly applicable and produce good results in the shortest time possible.

Of course we are prejudiced toward the Raymond Parenting method of sleep training because it has been working well for families for 27 years. Our method combines the very best, tried-and-true approach - tailored to your family - and is based on practices found to rank the highest for sleep training effectiveness in pediatric sleep journals.

Raymond Parenting sleep training advice for infants, toddlers and preschooleres can be obtained via a Seminar (Calgary) or through a Sleep Consultation Telephone Appointment, available internationally.

Infant Sleep from the Start (Prenatal Seminar) June 2 or August 4 ($60 per family; low income fee available)

Baby, Toddler Sleep from Now On June 14 or August 9 ($85 per family; low income fee available)

Infant, Baby, Toddler Sleep Consultations by Telephone ($150 for a 55-minute consult with one free follow-up email)

Appointments available on Mondays or Wednesdays. (Some evening appointments available.)

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(3) comments

Filed under: Sleep

Comments

Hi Kitty: I took your “Sleep from now on” seminar and it worked well for our son, who we sleep trained at 6 months old (he is now 3 and a good sleeper and still a great napper). Our daughter is a different story. There have been complications (gastro-intestinal reflux until 9 months and more recently an intestinal virus) that have prevented us from allowing her to cry. She is now 12 months old and seems extremely resistant to training. We attempted your method of sleep training and it was two weeks of intermittent crying through the night. Then she got a really bad cold and we had to interrupt the training. Now I wonder if we have missed “the window” to be successful at this? She is up at least once a night and more often than not three or more times—needless to say, we are exhausted. Is it possible that due to such a long history of us going in at night, her night-waking behaviour cannot be extinguished?

Kitty here: Since it has been 2.5 years since your experience with sleep training your now 3 year old, there can be details you may have forgotten; also, no doubt this child is of a different temperament than you first and may require some slight adjustments in the plan.

Since you attended the seminar previously, you may not require a full Sleep Consultation. Why not buy an email question and send me some details of what you have been trying (in between sicknesses) and maybe I can see some tweaking we can do.

I can assure you that there is no “window” after which these problems cannot be solved. We may just have to work harder because her habits are so established and her expectations are so high.
Kitty

By Jules D on May 20, 2011

Kitty we attended one of your seminars when our first born was only 7 weeks and we never looked back…At least until our twins were born! We found your e-mail consults very helpful and pratical for our busy, and exhausted family. It was great to have those e-mails as a re-fresher, and you were able to help us with the challenges. Our boys had different needs than that of our first born singleton, so a couple e-mail consultations was just what we needed to get back on track. It took longer and required more “focus” on our part, but we haven’t looked back since. The twins are now 2 and we are a well rested, well balanced family of 5. Thanks again for all your advice and support.

By Amber on May 29, 2011

Thanks for your reply, Kitty. I’ve purchased an e-mail question and will follow up with you that way. Hoping we can find something that works to get our little girl to sleep (because we aren’t the only ones suffering…she is so obviously over-tired and cranky almost all day it is quite worrying). Talk to you soon!

By Jules D on June 7, 2011

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Blog » Ferber, Sears, Weissbluth - A Triangular Controversy on Baby, Toddler Sleep