Getting Your Child to Sleep

Last week, Pediatrics, the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, published a research article investigating the positives and negatives of behavioral infant sleep intervention for infants who cry when put to bed. Thomas Hobson, director of Child Life at Le Bonheur, weighs in on this topic below.

It is not uncommon for infants between the ages of 6 - 12 months to develop parent-reported sleep problems. These are well, healthy children who all of the sudden cry, get upset, etc., when put down to sleep. The study found there are two best practices - called controlled comforting and camping out - that effectively address the behavior and have no long-term impact on the child.

Dealing with behavioral sleep issues with your child is a common experience for many parents - and it can be exhausting. So, I thought I would share some tips and tricks, applying the two practices mentioned in the Pediatrics article.

My 6 - 12-month-old infant starts crying when put to bed.
Controlled comforting: When an infant is put in bed and starts to cry, the parent responds but gradually, over time, increases the length of time between responses. This helps the child more learn to self-soothe. This is a great technique, but if you have a hard time letting your child cry, you have to commit yourself to following it.

Camping out: When the infant is put to bed, the parent stays in the room. The parent sits in the room, letting then child learn to fall asleep on his or her own. As the child learns to fall asleep on his own, the parent slowly removes himself/herself from the room.

My toddler/pre-schooler won't stay in bed.
In situations like this, I recommend a modified camping out method. Go through your normal bedtime routine, put your child to bed, and then either sit outside of the room or in the room. When your child gets out of bed, pick him up and put him back into bed. The most important part of this interaction is that you don't give any kind of reinforcement, positive or negative. This means that you don't talk, make eye contact, play, scold, or anything else. This can be hard to do, but the lack of interaction shows that this will continue to happen. Also, you may have to do this for several days, but in a short period of time, your child will stay in bed.

My child keeps getting into my bed in the middle of the night.
This is a common situation, and it's tough on the parents. I would treat this situation just like the child who won't stay in bed. As soon as your child gets into your bed, pick him up and put him back in his own bed. Remember to be consistent.

When one of your children is having a behavioral-based sleep issue, it's exhausting for both you and your child. Unfortunately, when you're tired, you're more likely to cave in or let this behavior become the "new normal." The truth is there are great approaches that you can use that will help both you and your child. Yes, they will take some effort on the front end, but not nearly as much as you think.