The “Cry-It-Out” method is also known as the extinction method. Here’s what it looks like: at bedtime, parents put the baby in the crib drowsy, but still awake. Then they leave the room and get the baby at a set time the next morning. They don’t respond to crying or protest unless there’s a concern for health or safety. Is this the best way to help a new baby sleep through the night? Or are there better alternatives?

The Guests

Sarah Moore is a conscious parenting trainer and founder of Dandelion Seeds Positive Parenting. Sarah is Board Chair for the American Society for the Positive Care of Children, and the author of Peaceful Discipline: Story Teaching, Brain Science & Better Behavior.

Megan Tucker is a registered nurse, certified lactation consultant and certified childbirth instructor. Megan is the founder of Baby Basics Atlanta, where she works with families of newborn children.

Today we ask a wide range of important questions about sleep training:

What is the best way to help parents get their newborns to sleep through the night?

What are the ethics of the “cry-it-out” method?

How should the parents balance the needs of their children with their own needs?

Show Notes

• Defining the cry-it-out method [04:31 ]
• Longterm effects of parental responsiveness [08:43 ]
• Challenges in sleep research [11:54 ]
• What is the average duration of crying in the cry-it-out method? [14:50 ]
• Co-sleeping [17:23 ]
• Sleep training trade-offs [28:31 ]
• Critiques of sleep training [32:28 ]
• Impact of less sleep on parents [39:55 ]
• Reasons why newborns cry [46:19 ]
• Needs of the baby vs. needs of the family unit [48:23 ]