Controlled crying

Controlled crying is still a much used method of settling children into a sleep regime.

Controlled crying is a strategy for settling your baby to sleep.

Controlled crying is a method that is not without controversy and its fair share of critics and many experts have had a change of heart over it in recent times.

Experts have moved away from the controlled crying method.

Controlled crying in essence consists of guiding babies to sleep by using a self-settling technique, which generally consists of the child crying during this process and involves the child settling themselves with you not in the room.

Controlled crying is a technique where you resist the urge to pick up or soothe your child with patting, stroke, feed to sleep, with the premise that it reduces their dependence and encourages self soothing to sleep.

Regardless of if the experts recommend this as a sleep technique, all agree that this strategy is not for babies under 6 months.

It may (but generally always) involve the baby crying in the beginning for a short period before you go in and provide comfort. When the baby is crying you go in you pat, stroke, comfort until the baby is calm but without getting them out of their bed.

While controlled crying previously was for specific timed periods from your departure from the room, this is not the case so much anymore. It is considered better to listen and take cues from the baby’s needs. It’s more a matter of getting the baby to not become dependent on techniques such as holding or rocking to sleep. You will find you will be advised not to let the baby cry or scream for ages.

Controlled crying as a technique is considered not an applicable technique to try until the baby is older than 6 months. Until this age it’s important not to let them cry for very long at all before comforting them.

If you do plan on using this technique to try to get some well deserved sleep for all, good luck as it is hard. More importantly we suggest you discuss it further with your Dr or health nurse for further advice to see if it is suited to you and for specifics that can be tailored to your individual needs.

In small incidents there may be an underlying cause for a child not to sleep well so it is best to rule this out with a Dr before attempting this technique.

Step 1: Put your baby in the cot awake. Say goodnight and leave the room.

Step 2: If your baby cries wait for 2 minutes before going in. Stay for a few minutes to reassure, then say goodnight and leave the room.

Step 3: If they are still crying after 5 more minutes, go back in and repeat the process. This time, wait for 7 or 8 minutes before going back in, and extend the time between visits by 2 minutes until they falls asleep. You will be leaving your child to cry for a longer stretch each time.

If your baby has had a sleep pattern that has been disrupted this type of technique will often take 4 or 5 nights.

Alternatively, if you are trying to develop a sleep routine then it may take up to 2 weeks for your baby to self soothe.

As with a technique that has experts divided on its benefits there are equal number of risks to be aware or and alert to if you decide to use this technique.

• Your child may become overheated
• Your child may vomit due to extreme distress.
• May increase a child’s stress levels and they will experience high levels of physiological distress.

There is also increasing evidence of potential longer term effects on infant brains, stress regulation mechanisms and attachment. Babies need our help to learn to regulate their emotions, which does include attending to their needs such as responding when they cry, comforting, etc. If a child is left to cry it out they fail to learn and understand the ability to regulate their own emotions.