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A routine should be set. Choose a bedtime, and stick to it. The last hour before bedtime, activities should be the same every night. Feeding, bath time, reading and so on should be done at roughly the same time every night. When you do this, your child knows what to expect next.

2) At the designated time, put your child in their crib. Give hugs and kisses. Tell your baby goodnight and that you love them. Walk out of the room.

3) If your child begins to cry, go into the room. Do not turn on a light or speak loudly. Whisper to your child that "It's time to go to sleep" or similar verbiage, put the baby back down, and walk out of the room.

4) If your baby begins to cry again, allow them to fuss for 5 minutes. If they are still crying at this point, go into the room. Again, do not turn on the light. This time you will not speak to your child at all. Do not make eye contact or pick up your baby. Simply lay the baby back down and walk out of the room.

5) Continue step 4 (each time be sure to add 5 more minutes to the wait time before going into the room) until your baby has fallen asleep.

Babies cry when they are put to bed because they know that you will respond. They are essentially "rewarded" every time someone comes into the room and gives the behavior attention. Taking away this "reward" and helping them to learn that they have boundaries is a very important step to take. This does not harm your child, and is in no way abusive.

-Is there a deeper meaning?-

A parent knows their baby better than anyone else. If your baby's cry is saying that he/she is hurt or sick, you should never allow your baby to cry through this type of situation. A night when a baby is sick is an entirely different ball game. If you have spent a few nights following the above steps, with no results, or if your child becomes inconsolable, you should consult your pediatrician to see if there is an underlying medical problem such as ear infection, colic, acid reflux, etc.

The majority of the time, properly allowing your baby to cry herself to sleep is effective. It is an emotional thing for any parent to go through. Allowing your baby to cry while you do not respond is a very difficult thing to do. Our instinct is telling us to run to their side immediately!

While going through the process is not easy, and has the potential to be very time consuming (depending on your child's stamina!), it is worth the end result. Trust me when I say this. Implementing this boundary at a young age is FAR easier than attempting to do so with a toddler!

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