Myths About Sleep Training Babies
7 Huge Misconceptions About Sleep Training, According to Experts
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Believe it or not, experts have found that not sleep-training your baby properly may increase their risk of having issues down the line, including Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID), or when kids are superpicky eaters.
"Not only are we seeing more cases of Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder we're also seeing more children who have sensory issues to things like certain fabrics. Futhermore, not responding to your child's cues early in life could lead to anxiety issues down the road."
Dr. Caldwell points to a study published in Pediatrics in 2016 to illustrate what happens when parents find a happy medium.
"In this study, both a graduated extinction and a bedtime fading program provided significant benefits without revealing an adverse stress response in the child or long-term effects on parent-child attachment," she said, emphasizing that: "This method is not the best for every child, or every family, so its effectiveness and effect on the family should be assessed throughout the process."
Although no mother wants to hear their baby wailing, at its core, sleep-training depend on parents letting their babies cry it out on some level.
"Once the caregiver is aware of the child's temperament, and 'flow' it can be helpful to allow a child to cry for a finite amount of time," said Dr. Naidoo.
And while being consistent with how frequently you soothe your baby should be your number one priority, moms shouldn't lose their cool about it.
"Creating boundaries which are in sync with your child is all you can do," advised Dr. Naidoo. "Be aware, experiment, and practice!"