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I'm Tracy 

I'm the founder, writer and advocate behind the award-winning blog, Raised Good - a guide to natural parenting in the modern world.

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Sleep

Is Self Soothing the Biggest Con of New Parenthood?

They say if you tell a big enough lie and repeat it frequently enough, it will be believed. It will become a cultural truth, even if it has no factual origins.

They also say that fear can convince a person, or a society, to do just about anything; no matter how unpleasant the act may seem at first. If enough people are doing it, others will follow.  If enough people believe it, it won’t be questioned.

Terms like “it’s for his own good” are often borne out of our primal need to rationalize and justify choices that abrade our instincts. To help us justify decisions that deep down, we know just don’t feel right.

Of course, with anything in life there are extremes; encouraging our children to brush their teeth or eat their greens is unquestionably looking out for “their own good”. But, other practices like discounting their basic emotional needs; not so much.

I have no doubt that this post will find me in hot water; people have a habit of shooting messengers especially when an inconvenient truth is being delivered.

And that’s ok, because I’m not writing to be popular.

Rather, I’m using the written word to advocate for the needs of those who can’t speak for themselves. To shine a light on the truth. And, as uncomfortable as it may be, to throw unquestioned mistruths into the arena and start a conversation.

Because the further I venture into my parenting journey, the more I feel many detached mainstream parenting practices can be traced back to the mistruths we’re told when our children are young.

And if we can be convinced to disengage with our babies, where does it end? Unknowingly, we allow cultural beliefs to set the stage for a lifetime of disconnection.

From cry it out to time out, it begs the question; how are we convinced to crush our compassion in the first place? What rewards could possibly justify being non-responsive to our children’s needs?

When it comes to infant sleep the prize we’re promised is self soothing. The theory is that by ignoring a baby’s needs we’re actually teaching them a valuable lesson; how to soothe themselves so that, as parents, we won’t need to continue doing it for them.

Strengthening this theory is the ultimate motivator: fear. Parents are scared into believing that if they refuse to teach their baby how to self soothe, they’re failing to teach a very necessary life skill.

Thankfully, self soothing is an illusion. And when we shatter an illusion, it has no power over us; our love can’t be leveraged and our sleep-deprived desperation can’t be taken advantage of. We’re immune to being duped into believing that we need to carry out harsh parenting practices in an attempt to achieve something that doesn’t even exist.

It’s critical to expose and debunk these myths before they embed themselves in our subconscious; creating unrealistic expectations, fueling unnecessary frustration and driving a wedge between us and those we love most.

Because, no matter what some may say, parenting matters.

Our choices can have powerful consequences, serving to either strengthen or weaken our mutual connection. To build or erode trust and to grow or diminish our confidence as new parents.

In a modern world that places such a high value on the species-inappropriate expectation of solitary sleep we need to feel emboldened to ask tough questions, to scratch beneath the surface and seek the truth. So, why is self soothing the biggest con of new parenthood?

Because self soothing is a physical impossibility for babies and young children.

The skill of self soothing is referring to the ability to regulate one’s own emotions; a developmental milestone that can’t be rushed. The last part of the brain to mature is the neocortex; it is the rational or analytical part of our brain that enables us to assess a situation and mediate our response.

In infants and young children, the neocortex is extremely undeveloped, quite literally making it a physical impossibility to rationalize and deal with strong emotions and unmet needs. This is why young children rely on us, their parents, to externally regulate their emotions for them until they are capable of doing it for themselves.

Because it fuels the practice of non-responsive sleep training.

For me, self-soothing and non-responsive sleep training are like the chicken and egg theory. Which came first? I don’t know. But, what I do know is that two lies are stronger than one. What these myths rely on are massive assumptions, the desperation of sleep-deprived parents and the failure to fully examine what is really happening.

What parents observe is that their baby eventually stops crying after practicing one of a variety of techniques that involves leaving their baby to cry without comfort. But just because parents don’t hear their baby crying doesn’t mean they’re sleeping through the night and it doesn’t mean they’ve miraculously learned to self soothe. It means they’re silent through the night. Babies continue to lightly or fully wake as often as biology dictates, but they’ve learnt if they cry nothing happens so they stay silent.

Because it teaches babies to freeze.

When babies are silent, it doesn’t necessarily means they’re calm and peaceful. Because, when babies are left alone, with physical or emotional needs they can’t meet, it is a stressful experience for them. Their blood cortisol levels rise and their fight, flight or freeze response kicks in. The only choice babies have is to freeze or develop a behaviour called ‘learned helplessness” or as Dr. Sears describes it ‘shutdown syndrome’.

Because it has a material effect on brain development.

During the first three years of life, a baby’s brain grows from a mere 25% to 80% of their ultimate adult size. This period of rapid brain development is critical to long term mental and emotional health. Early childhood experiences literally fire and wire the brain our children will have for the rest of their lives.

Two regions of the brain, the amygdala and hippocampus, are especially susceptible. The hippocampus is key to memory and stress modulation as well as behavioural regulation, while the amygdala helps process emotions.

A longitudinal study in 2012, involving neuroimaging of healthy and depressed preschool children, showed that the more nurturing mothers were towards their children, the greater their hippocampal volume became. The positive effect of maternal support was greater in healthy children and a similar response has been shown for the amygdala. These findings provide prospective evidence of the beneficial effect of early supportive parenting experiences on healthy brain development.

Because it trains children to believe that their needs don’t matter.

When we ignore a baby’s communication, they learn that their needs don’t matter. Babies who learn this lesson early in life are predisposed to experiencing insecure attachment, which can lead to a myriad of negative mental and emotional outcomes.

If we teach our children that, as parents, we’re unreliable in responding to their communication when they’re young, how likely are they to feel comfortable confiding in us when they’re being bullied at school? Or will they freely choose to come to us when they’re teenagers and feeling peer pressure to make choices that don’t feel right for them?

Because babies believe they, themselves, are the source of their experience.

Young children believe they, themselves, are the source of their own experience. How we treat our babies lays the foundation for the beliefs our kids will come to hold true about themselves for the rest of their lives. Babies can’t understand that we’re intentionally choosing not to respond to cries because an author recommended to leave them to cry for X number of minutes, so that they can learn to self soothe. From a baby’s perspective all they know is that they’re communicating a need and nobody is coming.

If we repeatedly ignore our babies they’ll believe they’re not worthy of attention, comfort and affection. But if we shower them with unconditional love, they’ll believe they’re loveable, valued and worthy of healthy relationships.

Because it sabotages the REAL path to teaching children how to self-soothe.

Our children learn how to effectively regulate their own emotions through observation; by observing us modelling healthy emotional regulation. Nurturing close, connected and respectful relationships with our children when they’re young offers the greatest assurance that they will not only be able to self soothe when they’re neurologically able, but that they will develop empathy and healthy pro-social behaviour.

‘Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.’ Marie Curie

While it may be possible to train babies and young children not to cry out when they need help, it is important to acknowledge it is not the same as self soothing. A child who is left to navigate emotions or situations they’re incapable of coping with is not happy, calm and stress-free.

The path to a happy, calm and stress-free baby is to be responsive to their needs. To pick them up. To hug them silly. To hold them, even if we can’t stop their cries. To reassure them through our actions that our love is unconditional and we will have their backs no matter how inconvenient or uncomfortable it may be at times.

Now is the time to trust our babies. To have faith that when they are developmentally ready, they will spread their wings and fly. And one day, in the not too distant future, they won’t need us any more. And we will look back and feel gratitude for the moments, that despite our sleep deprivation, we held our babies, drank in their sweet innocence and sang to them in the black silent stillness while nobody was watching.

Hi there!

I'm Tracy

Hi there! I’m Tracy - the founder, writer and advocate behind the award-winning blog, Raised Good - a guide to natural parenting in the modern world. Based in Vancouver and originally launched in 2016, I’ve been overwhelmed by the positive response and the global community that’s developed. 

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  1. Annelise says:

    This is so so great!! I’ve dealt with my fair share of push-back for choosing to comfort my children instead of letting them cry, sleeping or not, and it’s high time someone spoke out about it. Love this!!

    • Kayla says:

      Same here. What a lovely article. Through my experience I’ve learned that following my mother inticts and heart has by far been comfortable for my baby and I.

    • Tracy Gillett says:

      Thank you so much Annelise and so happy to do it. It gets pushback but that’s based on cultural values, not biological needs of children. Keep following and trusting your instincts xx

      • Naomi says:

        Hello, I don’t like cio method and my sister with 3 kids, my mom, dad and husband all tell me to let her cry. I hated the sound before. However, my baby has only slept through the night 3 or 4 times and she’s almost 1 year. Those times that she has slept is because I left her rock cry about 30 minutes to an hour, coming in every 5 minutes to comfort. I am completely exhausted when she is in our bed all night and she wakes up constantly and is miserable all day. I have tried gentle approaches but it hasn’t stuck and my husband is usually working during her bedtime. She is on a very consistent schedule. What do you suggest?

  2. Thank you so much for writing this! I am in the business of Mothers and babies and I deal with this issue constantly yet I do not waiver from my belief that it’s about self-regulation through attentive parenting Self-soothing is destructive as the babies simply shut down. Everything you said is right on- we need to keep speaking for the babies who are just innocent victims of a controlling/perfectionous culture. Which has resulted in a society of detached human beings – attached to things and not people.

    • Rebecca says:

      “Which has resulted in a society of detached human beings – attached to things and not people.”

      Well said. We’re too busy keeping up with the Joneses and have lost sight of our core values.

    • Tracy Gillett says:

      Thank you so much for your comment Maria and couldn’t agree more. It is so important that we keep speaking up for a new normal to be recognized and to support the parents who so gently meet the needs of their babies day and night no matter how exhausting it may be – and when we do society can rise to the challenge as well and support sleep-deprived parents.

    • Stacy says:

      That is absolute nonsense as is the article and all it does is make Mothers feel bad, we should be helping and supporting each other not writing sad, hateful articles like this.
      More sleep makes us better mothers and our babies happier because they are sleeping more and being cared for by a happier mother. Simple.
      I tried CIO with my first and it worked after 2 nights. I tried a gentler method with my second and it took 33 days and nights, this amounted to far more crying and stress for everyone. I MUCH preferred CIO method.

      • Tracy Gillett says:

        Hi Stacy,

        The article is not nonsense – it’s actually complete common sense. CIO is nothing more than ignoring a baby. That’s good for you that you got more sleep but what your baby has learned is that you’re not coming, not how to sleep. Babies already know how to sleep – the problem is that our society wants babies to sleep like adults and not like babies. Actigraphy (an objective measure) shows that babies who are sleep trained continue to wake just as often as they did before, but they’re silent. The parents report that they’re babies wake less (a subjective report) because they don’t hear any crying. If the sleep training industry was honest in their marketing and instead of trying to give sleep training methods names like spaced soothing or CIO or controlled crying and instead just called it what it is “ignore your baby until he gives up” I am certain far fewer parents would do it. This site is all about normalising normal infant and child behaviour – not bending and manipulating it to be what we want. There is nothing hateful about advocating for what children need. There is something distirbing though about a culture of adults – who are the ones who decided to have the children in the first place – ignoring the needs of children because they’re inconvenient.

        • Ree See says:

          I agree with you. I have a master’s degree in Psychology. If people look at the studies of Russian children that are adopted, most of them have what we call RAD. Reactive attachment Disorder, due to the fact that in an orphanage they lack staff members to assist these children and do not pick them up when they are crying. Now, I know this is an extreme case. However, if we look at Bowlby’s theory and the “strange” situation experiment. We have to consider the importance of being secure to children and infants. How important it is to be soothed and comforted by their care givers. It provides trust And security to children. Check out Attachment Disorder and where it is rooted. Don’t fight nature it is there to protect us and help us survive. Crying is a form of communication and should not be ignored. We shouldn’t prune the part of the brain that needs to grow more. Since we know how our brain rapidly develop the first five years and Neurons that are not firing will be pruned. Keep attachment and bonding strong!

        • Vincent says:

          This article is pure noncense. And utterly destructive. We have tried this method, our daughter is 1,6 months old and is still waking up 4 times a night. It is compleately shattering us as a family.

          DO NOT listen to this woman.

          • Tracy Gillett says:

            Vincent – your comment is disrespectful and I planned to delete it but then thought it may be constructive to reply. Which part of the article is nonsense? It is disappointing to me that you believe that being kind and responsive to a baby is destructive. How so? Babies wake many time through the night and cosleeping has evolved to help mothers and fathers get the sleep they need while responding to their baby without it being completely shattering. If you don’t like my website there are plenty of sleep training sites you can join. This article has been extremely popular and one of my sleep posts received over 1M views earlier this year so I’m happy to be reaching those who need it. Sometimes it’s easy to shoot the messenger when a nerve is hit. If you believe wholeheartedly that what you are doing is right, then nothing I say should rattle you.

      • Ree See says:

        I agree with you. I have a master’s degree in Psychology. If people look at the studies of Russian children that are adopted, most of them have what we call RAD. Reactive attachment Disorder, due to the fact that in an orphanage they lack staff members to assist these children and do not pick them up when they are crying. Now, I know this is an extreme case. However, if we look at Bowlby’s theory and the “strange” situation experiment. We have to consider the importance of being secure to children and infants. How important it is to be soothed and comforted by their care givers. It provides trust And security to children. Check out Attachment Disorder and where it is rooted. Don’t fight nature it is there to protect us and help us survive. Crying is a form of communication and should not be ignored. We shouldn’t prune the part of the brain that needs to grow more. Since we know how our brain rapidly develop the first five years and Neurons that are not firing will be pruned. Keep attachment and bonding strong!

        Also, it is true that mother’s should keep themselves sane and take care of themselves. However, this is more complicated than just simple self care. When you bore a child, it is a process. It is a process to love them (unconditionally). We learn to strengthen character such as patience, perseverance, and endurance. Something that we go through with lack of sleep it also will teach us impulse control. It will be hard but it will help you grow as a person. Maybe that us what this culture needs. More character and strength rather than instant gratification.

  3. Leah Marie says:

    Great article! My baby has significantly regressed in night sleeping and with the lack of sleep I caught a nasty cold. Which, as any breastfeeding mom can attest to is not fun! I’ve been wrestling with what to do, maybe I’m doing something wrong. Maybe I have created this by nursing my baby to sleep. But then I realized that nursing your baby to sleep is nature’s way; in fact there is something in breastmilk that makes baby sleepy!! Why would I fight against nature and let her cry it out?! Reading your article solidified my position on this. Does it suck being up 5 times in the night, yes, but it won’t be like this forever and clearly whatever is going on she needs comfort rather to cry it out and be left to emotionally shut down.

    • Rebecca says:

      I feel your pain! We dealt with a rough 4 and 8 month sleep regression. I tried so many methods to encourage “self-soothing” (but fortunately never used full CIO) and nothing worked. Glad I gave it up and realized that my boy needs me, and that’s okay. I hate that in my sleep deprived state I ever thought otherwise. It was against nature.

      • Tracy Gillett says:

        Thank you so much for sharing Rebecca – good on you for following your instincts, it isn’t easy when there is so much messaging to do the opposite.

    • Tracy Gillett says:

      Thank you so much for sharing your experience Leah – so encouraging! And so true, this time passes by so fast and the degree to which our babies need us reduces so quickly. With a now four year old, I miss the middle of the night time wakeful moments where it was just me and him. You might like another post I wrote too – How Gratitude Reframes Night Time Parenting. Thank you again for sharing and hope you feel better soon! xx

  4. Charlie says:

    If self soothing causes children to withdraw into their own world. A child that doesn’t cry to meet its needs is a child that no longer trusts the world. I have met mothers who take in foster care kids. The neglected babies never cry. It’s a break through when they do.

    • Tracy Gillett says:

      Thank you so much for sharing Charlie. Heartbreaking to read but if we can break the cycle what an empathetic world this could be.

  5. Jo says:

    Thank you for this article!! Being a new mom is one that is rewarding and, at the same time, stressful and confusing. I’ve been told by so many people that I need to “let my baby cry it out, it’s good for her, self soothing is important otherwise you won’t be able to do anything else because she will want to be held all the time”. I’m not going to lie, I’ve tried it and it broke my heart to hear my baby crying and my baby CRIES! To the point that it doesn’t​ take very long for her to get really upset. After trying the self soothing method, I thought it to be mean and ridiculous! What you’ve stated in your article is true, how can they learn if we don’t show them? I would rather have my baby grow to trust and know that I’ll always be here for her. After trying I’ve decided to stay away from the self soothing method because it also made me feel so guilty. I’ve waited for long time for my daughter, even told I wouldn’t be able to have children and here she is…my miracle. Why should I follow what others are saying and allow my baby to be upset for something that I can help her with? Its true when people say they grow so fast and I don’t want to miss out on any opportunities that allow me to hold, nurture and love my baby. So thank you for your article, it makes me feel confident in my abilities as a new mom.

    • Tracy Gillett says:

      Aw, thank you so much Jo – it was so reassuring to read you story and I really appreciate your honesty. It is so hard to trust and follow your instincts and be gentle when so many people tell you to do otherwise. I’m so happy this post was helpful to you as this is the whole reason I write. Congrats on your miracle baby, I have one too – took us three years to conceive too. Enjoy those sleepy snuggles xx

  6. Lilly says:

    Thank you for this very important message. Thanks for being brave and standing up for those who couldn’t speak for themselves. I started to buy into the sleep training “idea” early on and then later abandoned it. Four kids later, I’m so glad I did. Now? I just regretted the days and weeks that we got conned into this entire false belief of sleep training in the beginning. Thanks for taking time to write this.

    • Tracy Gillett says:

      Oh my pleasure Lilly and thank you so much for your comment and insight. This is the whole reason I write – to try to provide a counterbalance to the popular ideas that are spread about sleep training. Thank you again xx

  7. Angela says:

    Love that this is being spoken. I dealt with infertility and finally got one baby boy after three miscarriages. I, too, started to believe the self-soothing baloney, but my husband said that was ridiculous and he didn’t want our son to make himself sick crying. I then realized how bad it made me feel to let him cry, the few times I did try to let him cry it out. We both did our best to respond to him with lots of attention and love, and I held him as often as possible when I didn’t have to be doing something else, and carried him in a carrier when I needed my hands free. He was NOT a good sleeper either, due to some health problems, so we were up a LOT! But he’s almost 4 now and is a happy, compassionate, secure and generous child, and does sleep all night finally! He notices when others are hurt or need help and offers hugs, pats or toys to help others feel better. It’s so precious to see how caring he is and I’m sure that comes from his own feeling of safety and security. He knows that his needs are important and will be attended, so he can offer solace to others. What a relief as a parent to know that my gut instincts were right on, so I keep following them!

  8. Rebecca says:

    Thank you so much for this. As a new mom, I kept receiving so much (unwanted) advice about my baby who wasn’t sleeping well. I read so much from the so-called sleep training experts and even tried letting him fuss a few times. All of these “methods” and schedules and formulas to follow. I regret ever doing it and wish I could take those nights back. I feel like a whole society of moms are getting duped by this sleep-training culture and doing our babies a disservice. Breaks my heart to think of the effects it has on them long-term. I’ve been there, and I know how tired and desperate you feel after the 6th time getting up at night with a baby who won’t settle. Those times are so rough. But they won’t last forever, and it doesn’t mean something is wrong with your baby. It means your baby is doing exactly what he’s supposed to, which is expressing his needs.

    This article reinforced everything that already feels so instinctual, and I love that it’s backed by science and research and so full of common sense. Thanks again.

  9. Frankie says:

    I LOVE the idea of this principle but in the practice of it I struggle. My boy has never been one to appreciate physical affection, in fact he pushes away from it. In distress he has always pushed away from us rather than seek our comfort. This has always been a struggle for me, I want so badly to comfort him, but he seems to want to manage things on his own. At 4mths old we realized he feel asleep faster and calmer in his bassinet alone than sleeping next to us in bed and then later calmer if we left the room than if we settled down with him. I was so not what I was expecting from all the attachment parenting style resources I had read. So when I read “The path to a happy, calm and stress-free baby is to be responsive to their needs. To pick them up. To hug them silly. To hold them, even if we can’t stop their cries” I wonder how that could apply to my boy, now almost a toddler, who screams louder and pushes away if I try to hug and comfort him when he’s mad or distressed. He’s affections are more attention based. He likes words more than hugs and eye contact more than sitting on my lap so I guess that’s what I focus on for now? Oh and he loves it when I sing to him, maybe that would help.

    • Charlie says:

      This is so good to hear! My son was exactly the same from the moment he was born and has always been big and strong enough to struggle and kick away from my comforting cuddles, no matter how hard I’ve tried to hold him and soothe him even if he doesn’t stop crying. I read articles like this and worry that I’ve scarred him for life by doing things the way we have done, but then we think back to how he is and always has been and realise that we couldn’t have done it any other way. He still has a very sensitive side and sometimes gives hugs and kisses, but he just doesn’t like to cuddle. And now he has a little sister, who is the cuddliest thing in the world 🙂

    • Jennifer says:

      My oldest son also always seemed to push me away when I was trying to give him comfort. Then one time, when he was about 6 and definitely old enough to get it, he had been hurt and was crying uncontrollably and fighting me as I tried to comfort him. I stopped and asked him if he wanted me to soothe him and hug him and help him feel better. He said yes. I explained that if he wanted that, he couldn’t push against me and had to sit still and let me hold him. And he did. I do not understand why he was unable to come to that conclusion on his own, but once I taught him how to let me comfort him, it was no longer a problem. I even wondered if he might be autistic or something – but he’s not. He’s 13, healthy, happy, well-adjusted, mature, doing great! He just sometimes has to be told things that you would think come naturally, and for some reason don’t.

    • Miriam says:

      As an educational councelor in daycare centers in Israel I am well aquainted with what you describe. These are children born highly sensetive to touch. One proffesional tried to describe it to me” if I would take off the skin of your hand and would touch your bare hand..could you imagine your pain?”
      These are sensory processing disorders(SPD) and you need an expert in the field to help you.
      There are many great books that give insight
      ” sensational kids” by Dr.Lucy Jane Miller director of STAR Research center. One of the greatest places in the US.
      It is so important to get help because you need to know your child loves you, but can not bear to be touched.
      All the best!

  10. Regina says:

    Totally agree. I struggled with this as I parented #1 more mainstream and #2 like this. Good comment.

  11. Abby says:

    Yeah no I can’t say I agree with this. I feel bad for all the first time mom’s who are sleep deprived dealing with PPD who read this.

    • Sara says:

      Well… the reason so many mothers suffer from PPD, is the total lack of help and support in our society.
      The fact that you’re tricked into letting the bond between you and your baby snap by CIO and time outs, etc.

      Moms who are sleep deprived dealing with PPD (like I was the first 10 months of #2) should get a lot of love, power, support and hugs. Someone who takes over during the day for a nap. A husband who jumps in at night with a bottle (pumped) milk. A grandmother who brings some food or a neighbor who does some laundry.

      It’s strange how many solutions are concentrated on fixing a (non-existing) problem with the baby instead of helping out a young mother.

      Letting your child CIO doesn’t fix PPD. Not. at. all.

      • Monira says:

        Amen!

      • Marcy says:

        I don’t think postpartum depression is necessarily a lack of support but a lack of support worsens the issue. If a mother with postpartum depression had people like the aforementioned examples actually helping her with these things and getting the psychological help I could see it helping. I had a bout of it after my little guy was born but that’s because I recently moved to a new place when I was pregnant that was 2 hours away from any relatives that could help. I felt so incredibly alone and depressed and like such a failure. I’d cry trying to sing you are my sunshine to my baby. I feel like if I had had the network of family and friends near me it would have been a lot easier. Though there a lot of severe cases, that I personally can’t I Say I was one of, that this kind of help might not have helped.

        In my opinion as a species we are not biologically evolved to have to raise children alone. Yet with modern day society especially in the western world it’s not unusual to see a family starting out with no help from family and friends, due to varied circumstances, and to have both parents working. I live in a nice gated neighborhood and when originally moved I. I was surprised to find that my next door neighbors live in the same house as the wife’s parents. They already had a little boy and the wife was two weeks farther a long with their baby then I was. The grandparents love being there for the couple, I know they’re from another country though not which so I’m assuming it’s culturally acceptable and oh how I envy them. I’d love to have such readily available family help!!!

      • ALI says:

        Inherent in the ‘Sleep Training as a prevention for PND’ argument is the belief that a baby’s sleep pattern is a risk factor for PND. It’s not. ALL babies have times, long or short, where they wake often and need extra cuddles. But not ALL mums get PND. The difference is the support, and the mum’s personal risk factors and history. All mums/dads therefore need support in those tough times to get through them and stay well.

        The evidence shows that the risk factors for PND are:
        • low level of social supports including lack of support from her partner
        • Perfectionistic personality (eg. trying to force a baby to sleep like an adult – how STRESSFULL is that?!)
        • Pregnancy and delivery complications
        • Low socioeconomic status
        • Domestic violence
        • History of depression or anxiety disorders in the woman or her family
        • Stressful life events
        • Past history of abuse

        I personally experienced 3 months of hourly wakening with our son until we had help from the wonderful Grow Medical/Possums group in Brisbane who taught us to optimise our son’s feeding and circadian rhythm. There was NO need to let our baby cry himself to sleep to help him sleep better. There is no need to ignore a baby that is asking to have their emotional needs met in the name of protecting the mum.

        • Elizabeth says:

          I’ve been looking into Possums! What did they teach you? And how long did it take for things to improve?

    • Tracy Gillett says:

      As Sara mentioned below Abby, being responsive to our babies isn’t a cause of PPD.

  12. Their mom, Katylin says:

    Thank you!
    My boys make me a mom-sandwich nightly. They are 7 and 4, and to be frank, they MOM-Sooth. I am a better person for the quite time I lay near then, praying for them, planning for them, touching their face or feet.
    They will leave soon enough, this is what I will remember.

  13. Mia says:

    Great comment. As a new parent, it’s overwhelming how many articles tell me I am doing everything wrong. And it’s so hard to trust myself when I am so tired and almost overwhelmed by the new situation, too. I think we all (for the most part) do the best we can given the information we have, so even putting the information out there is so much help. It’s never too late to change your approach!

  14. Lyndsey says:

    Thank you so much!!! I was literally just wondering what I should do. My family believe I’m spoiling my son by not letting him cry it out. He’s 7 months now and I just can’t bare to do it! It feels so wrong!

  15. Amanda says:

    I’m so happy I’m not alone on this. So much of what we’re taught feels like “because that’s the way it’s always been done”. I don’t know what works for anyone else, I know we are struggling to find the right sleep solution- but what I do know is leaving my son to “cry it out” just doesn’t work for me or him.

  16. Rhiannon says:

    Love this article… It’s emotional and rational and perfectly reasoned.

    I have shared it to a citizen science group on Facebook full of parents who are trying to answer parenting questions with science. It’s something we all feel strongly about I think you’d be someone we’d be interested in speaking to.

    Would that be something you’re interested in?

  17. Deepti says:

    I love this post, all the more because I come from a culture (India) where it’s natural for us to attend to a baby’s needs instinctively. It’s also a given that our babies will be sleeping in our rooms, until they’re old enough to sleep independently. Most families, due to space shortage, may practice (although not consciously) co-sleep until kids are well into early teens. I guess we don’t have the luxury or culture of over thinking our parenting philosophies and just go with the flow. I’m afraid western society places too much importance and pressure on being “perfect” and “right”. No wonders parents are a confused lot!

  18. Jessica says:

    So, I’m positive that you won’t listen to me. But I have to say something.

    I was an attachment child and as an adult I struggle with severe attachment issues and a pre-occupied attachment style that I absolutely attribute to my parents’ subscription to attachment parenting.

    I understand the appeal behind it, and I certainly understand the overwhelming feelings that you have as a mother for your child that discourage you from allowing the child to learn to self-soothe. However, I wish my parents had been able to find the strength to seek out another path and the presence of mind to consider the real lessons they were teaching me about how relationships work, and to not worry about being self-reliant because the people close to me were there to bear the burden.

    Because I was always attached to my parents, as an adult I tend to seek out relationships that are codependent and all-consuming. I become severely attached to people and when things don’t work out, I lack the coping skills to handle the devastation. The person I’m with literally becomes my world, similar to how it was with my parents through attachment parenting, and it’s unhealthy. Damaging. It has cost me years of therapy and honestly it is still a daily struggle to form healthy attachments.

    Like I said, I don’t expect you or anyone sipping the attachment parent juice to listen. But I implore you to consider a compromise and think about what you are actually teaching your child about attachment.

    • Kathy says:

      It doesn’t sound like you had a secure attachment with your parents. Whatever they were calling attachment parenting obviously wasn’t.. it might have been what they considered attachment parenting, but it sounds more preoccupied, dependent and stifling and like you ended up in an insecure-preoccupied relationship with them. Secure attachment allows for age appropriate independence and for the child to explore the world on their own. I’m glad you are getting help now.

    • Mavis Gewant says:

      curious as to what you think attachment parenting is? just because you were always attached to your parents, doesnt mean you had a secure attachment.

    • Vassilekee says:

      Hi Jessica,

      I was the exact opposite, longing for some affection from both my parents. They were not neglectful, in fact I grew up with lots of stuff, practically anything I wanted. We just didn’t say I love you or we never hugged. And yes, I have also spent a lot of money on all kinds of psychotherapy, continuously for the past 9 years, working on my co-dependence issues among other things, bc when my husband would go on his two-month-long business trips I felt abandoned and I just sunk in a well of self pity. So, yes, I will shower my 6m baby with endless love and affection, co-sleep with him and everything but at the same time I encourage independence and teach him that the most important love and the only one we truly need is self-love. In my opinion, attachment parenting, like any kind of good parenting, is not about going to extremes, rather it requires constantly working with oneself so you can raise a (as much as possible) balanced adult. Lots of love!

  19. […] in schools in a similar way to how many babies adjust to being left to cry it out and ‘self soothe‘. Schooled children become complacent. Their cries and concerns are belittled and […]

  20. […] – Is Self Soothing The Biggest Con of Modern Parenting? by Tracy at Raised […]

  21. […] Ava (and indeed all my children) autonomy with sleep started from birth. Forced self-soothing is such a fallacy and babies are meant to regulate their own sleep in their own […]

  22. libbi says:

    Hello! I love this post and my heart stands behind this information fully in my parenting. Personally, that’s enough for me, but others want the science and facts. I was wondering if you have sources to share to backup the statements made in this post? I would LOVE to share them with others in my life. Thanks!

  23. Beth says:

    I also did a form of gentle sleep training with our toddler that started when she was 7 months old. We started by having her sleep in the crib across the room from us (as opposed to beside the bed). We did this for about 2 weeks. Then we moved her to her own room for at least a couple hours a night (by this time she wasn’t night feeding at all). She went to sleep nursing until about 8/9 months. Then we rocked her to sleep, and then moved to rocking her for a bit then laying her in the crib. Then at 10 ish months we moved to laying beside her crib and holding her hand while she fell asleep. We did this during both naps and at night. At about 13 months we started a bedtime routine of nursing, story, tuck in, and she would fall asleep.She self weaned at 14 months much to my disappointment so that removed the nursing from the routine. But we still do story, cuddles and tuck in and she goes to sleep.
    Of course when she wakes up during the night or she is sick, we still end up with a toddler in bed with us.

  24. […] did we get here? To the belief that children must be taught how to sleep. It’s simply not true. But even with scientific research proving the negative impacts on babies, non-responsive sleep […]

  25. Amy says:

    Please hear me 🙂

    I am not against the soothing methods you are describing. If it works for you, wonderful! However I am asking you to be gracious and understanding towards the moms who have found a different way to run their home that adds to their families health and happiness. Do not treat us like monsters.

    I let my 4 month old daughter cry when I know she needs sleep. There comes a point where she does not want Mom, she does not want milk, she wants sleep. I allow her to fall asleep alone in her crib. It doesn’t take long, and amazingly, nowadays she won’t cry at all. At night as her bedtime approaches, she gets unhappy in my arms. nothing will comfort her. I place her in her crib…the crying stops! A look of contentment fills her face and I leave her alone and she remains content, slowly drifting to sleep. Alone. This has become an incredible blessing to our family. She is not dependent on others to fall asleep. She has been trained to realize that she does not need rocking, she does not need soothing, she CAN be alone and fall asleep alone.

    It was not always like this, she used to cry before drifting to sleep. I was not training her to freeze, I was training her to be content alone. You know what this training has resulted in? She can be content as an individual and is not dependent on attention or being entertained. After her nap or in the morning, I find her awake in her crib, smiling to herself, studying her hands and feet. Learning about the world..alone.

    Now you may be thinking, you are depriving your daughter of socialization! Not so. We socialize nearly all day long. I am not neglecting her, just allowing her to be a content baby when Mom is not around. She knows that when she really needs me, I will always come.

    I am not saying that this method works for all babies, my daughter is a special individual and I had to discover her specific needs. There is no one-size-fits-all method for infant sleep. Ladies, do not feel guilty when you discover what works for you and your family.

  26. What a fantastic post. Parents need to be directed to articles like this, rather than the trash and lies that cry-it-out sleep “experts” publish and push out to millions of parents.
    I genuinely worry about the future health of society because of these damaging parenting practices.
    Thanks for sharing this post, it really is great. X

    • Tracy Gillett says:

      My pleasure Alice and thank you for your kind and encouraging comment – they’re not always like that! xx

  27. Tracy Gillett says:

    Thanks for your comment Claire but I support instinctive parenting and even if there was zero scientific evidence (which of course isn’t the case) I personally wouldn’t need “proof” that being empathetic and responsive to my child is a good idea. Requiring “proof” that it is ok to ignore one’s child is based cultural values not on meeting the biological needs of a chid. I wrote about this a while ago in my post Is Cry It Out The Tip of a Dangerous Parenting Iceberg? There are plenty of websites that support sleep training and I aim to provide a counterbalance for my tribe of parents who want to follow a gentle parenting path.

    • Diane says:

      First child I was on my own by the time she was six months, so our living arrangements had us sleeping together. Second child I went back to work when he was six weeks so we followed the self soothing method. Last child six years later I was a single parent by the time she was six months, so she slept with me until she was seven years old. My son is very smart, always ahead in school, had friends who came to our house a lot. But very un personal. At thirty six has had two girlfriends. He is friendly but doesn’t know how to show feelings. Both daughters very personal, out going, loving mothers. Maybe a coincidence….. but I wouldn’t take the chance. Sleep deprived I never was having them by my side. ????

  28. Tsarine says:

    Interesting article…
    People have lost so much touch with their natural instincts that they need to be told what to do, and as you say it’s often so wrong…

    By the way, you say: “encouraging our children to brush their teeths (…) is unquestionably looking out for “their own good”.”

    Well not when tooth paste is full of fluoride which directly affects the pineal gland, which affects our very ability to be in touch with our natural instincts… a vicious circle!

    • Tracy Gillett says:

      Agreed Tsarine and we don’t use fluoride! We use natural toothpaste for that very reason and when we go to the dentist we don’t have the fluoride painted on. Thanks for bringing it up!

  29. Cleo says:

    Thank you for talking about this! So many people thinks the opposite, that self soothing is the key, that babies need to learn “by themselves”, that if we are too available they will be dependant and will rely on us parents too much. This is just wrong. Babies need us and all our attention and help when they feel distressed. I tried sleep training when my son was refusing to sleep alone at 11 month old. That’s what other mums told me to do. I could not do it! I chose to follow my instinc and I pick him up as soon as he needs me. Leaving your kids cry is definitely not good for their mental health and the fact that people do this makes me angry. They don’t deserve this. They just came into our world, they need unconditional love and a lot of cuddles even in the middle of the night.

  30. Marcy says:

    Thank you so much for your article! I’ve had a lot of push back, sadly even from my husband, for raising my baby how I have. Whether it’s that we bedshare, how I think crying it out is barbaric, or my thoughts on “extended” breastfeeding. I try to look for information to help me feel like I’m not messing up and it can be difficult. I’m a new mom and everyone is telling me that my 10 month old should self settle or he’ll always need me. I’ve had more people then I’d like tell me to let him cry himself to sleep but I just can’t, so what if it takes me 30 min to sometimes an hour to put him to sleep. I’m a parenting I’m supposed to parent aren’t I? Yeah I get frustrated because I have a sink full of dishes but hey they can wait. I googled “10 month old won’t self settle” to find information on self settling and it took me three pages of scrolling through sleep sites to find an article, yours, that wasn’t tips on how to get baby to self settle.

    Sorry for the rant! But again thank you for your article!

    • Gretchen says:

      I agree, and had the same push back. And same problem with finding articles, so I’m so glad to find this one and the responses like yours.

  31. Georgina says:

    I hate this article for one reason. I found it 3 years too late and now I have a sickening worry of how sleep training may have affected my 3 year old. On the other hand i know i have learnt a lot as a mother since, and I am absolutely loving the natural approach with my 11 week old which included the perfect home birth. I adore this site and just shared it with my mothers group xx

  32. Caitlin says:

    I appreciate your arguement and on many levels agree with you. I hated cry it out with my first daughter but we turned to it in desperation: we were not sleeping (me especially) and couldn’t function properly at work or at home as parents. It would be helpful if you could provide clearer guidance on what we should be doing instead. Thanks!

  33. Dace says:

    What a beautifu, fresh perspective on babies and sleep. I really enjoyed reading it and I agree 100% with everything you’ve said.
    Babies need connection and to feel safe to be able to sleep- it seems common sense to me!
    Thank you for your courage to speak up and expose all these myths surrounding self- soothing.
    I hope that more and more parents will start to wake up and see the truth.
    Much love,
    Dace

  34. This is a beautiful article – thank you! However, I would really encourage you to back up what you write with up to date evidence from studies in the fields of neuroscience, education and psychology. If this message is to appear credible to the mainstream, it absolutely must be presented from a scientific rational base rather than from an emotional place. Keep up the good work!

  35. Ashley says:

    I will be the first to say ‘to each there own’ when it comes to parenting. What works for me may not work for you. But to write an article basically telling other moms who sleep train that they are causing their children to basically become emotionless threats to society is both preposterous and utterly rude. My son was sleep trained and he is the sweetest most loving child. And yes he still cries during the day when he needs things and I am there to hug him and help him through his emotions. To say that sleep training took that away from him is utterly untrue. I am not saying your way is wrong….but just because you want to do things one way doesn’t make my way ‘sleep training’ wrong either. Be More compassionate and a little less judgmental.

  36. Zara says:

    I absolutely LOVE this! Thank you for writing this. I went through a consultation with a “sleep trainer” a few months ago but it just didn’t sit well with me and in the end I trusted my gut and did not go ahead with it. Many people have questioned this choice and now I have this to share with them. Thank you ????

  37. Tracy Gillett says:

    Thanks for your comment Maddie. If you could provide links to the studies you reference that would be great or feel free to forward them to me at tracy@raisedgood.com

    I am more than happy to have a constructive disagreement and debate on the topic but this is not scare a tactic. Scare tactics are most commonly used to maintain mainstream cultural ideals and have nothing to do with biological norms – “if you don’t sleep train your baby, they’ll never sleep’, “if you bed share your baby will never leave your bed”.

    Yes, PPD is a major issue and that is why I also have an article about that which you may like to read. Here is a link. It is from a mother who has experienced PPD herself and for whom sleep training was recommended but it made things worse. PPD is a complex issue and to suggest that ignoring babies and leaving them to cry is not a solution. What is a solution is providing mothers with real support – help with the baby, help with housework, help with cooking, someone to come and help her have a shower, a shoulder to cry on. Our village has been lost a long time ago and it is easier to use babies as a scapegoat.

    In addition, we now urge mothers to breastfeed their babies but at the same time, we say that babies must sleep alone. This in itself is a recipe for PPD. A mother needing to get up, out of bed, maybe 8+ times a night is what causes suicidal sleep deprivation. Mothers who bedshare and breastfeed have been shown to have lower risk for PPD and get more sleep. Check out Dr. Kathleen Kendall-Tackett’s research for more. Here are a couple of her papers:

    The effect of feeding method on sleep duration, maternal well-being, and postpartum depression

    Mother-infant sleep locations and nighttime feeding behaviors: U.S. data from the Mothers’ Sleep and Fatigue

    Having said all this, I am here to support mothers not convince them to do one thing or another. I would also add that I am not talking about crying for a minute while mum comes to respond, CIO, controlled crying or responsive​ settling are about intentionally ignoring a baby’s needs and communication sometimes for a couple of hours – that is not mild stress.

  38. Mavis Gewant says:

    thank you for the article. i feel that its a con and it teaches babies to feel insecure. each baby has it’s own temperament and what works for one might not work for another. i personally would not leave my own babies or any babies i take care of alone to cry. in the grand scheme of things they only have sleep issues for such a short time, so who is really the one with the issues? if you believe that you are teaching your baby something good and it’s been positive, fantastic.

  39. Lea says:

    Thank you so much for this beautiful article. After weeks of doubting my instincts as a parent and people telling me how to sleep train my little one ( who is only 3 months), your article reassured me that I have been doing the right thing all along by comforting him, rocking him, and holding him whenever he needed me. Quite frankly, I do not understand how any mother can leave their baby crying alone. That goes against nature. Thanks again for those true words!!!

  40. Ellie says:

    I reposted this excellent article yesterday in the hope that it would help to stem the constant tide of unsafe advice telling people to let their babies cry.
    I have already been sent a long rant by someone who has now unfriended me. I have also received thumbs up and agreement from other gentle mums. I stick by my beliefs: babies cannot self soothe and should not be left alone to cry if this can be avoided.

  41. Kate says:

    My now 8.5 year old son who sleeps beautifully 11 hours a night and relishes bedtime had to be cuddled to sleep and shared our bed more often than not through his early years. I always believe this to be instinctive behavior and so vital for his and my own development despite being constantly criticized and exhausted. He is now an emotionally mature, creative and highly intelligent little boy who can trust his own judgement and hold his own. Staying true to our human needs allows us all to flourish, parents and children.

  42. Janette Presnell says:

    Congratulations! You are SO correct. Loving connection with loads of cuddles instills self love and confidence later so true

  43. Sam says:

    My 3.5 month old baby has ‘self soothed’ or put himself back to sleep. And I think I taught him?
    I told my husband that I wanted the bed/crib to be a no cry zone, so he associates it with safety and calm. It’s a co sleeper, so we’ve more or less got into the pattern of bed routine then we put him in, I cuddle him in the crib and lay with him until he falls asleep. In the early days I would stroke his head and lightly push his eye lids down, then later I would lay with him and repeatedly slowing close my eyes and he would follow suit, followed by pretending snoring (heavy breathing) until I could could hear his heavy ‘asleep’ breathing.
    That’s normally now when I make my escape, after waiting 10 more mins.
    Now, we watch him on the monitor and I’ve seen him self settle by stroking him own face. It’s not perfect, I have to go up and give him an extra hug if he can’t do it.
    We’ve bed shared, co slept and he’s a star so far. Now isn’t this self soothing?

  44. Camilla says:

    I think the issue is that “self-soothing” is often discussed in connection to a baby being able to fall asleep by themselves. These are two entirely different things.

    My son cannot self-sooth at 12 weeks old, when he is upset he needs my reassurance and help, but he has no issues falling asleep on his own if his needs are met. Hence some people would say that he “self-sooths” to sleep since I can put him down while he is still more or less awake and he will fall asleep. The only reason that happens, however, is that I listen to him and help him solve any issues he has until the only one left is tiredness.

    I would be so happy if people stopped talking about “self-soothing” in connection to sleep. They are two very different things.

  45. Hanna says:

    Which is the better mother?
    One that gets a full night sleep or one that is too exhausted to spend quality time with her baby after being up 5 times a night instinctively feeding said baby to sleep.
    Hmmm.

    • Tracy Gillett says:

      Absolutely! Breastsleeping (breastfeeding + bedsharing) mothers get the MOST sleep so I highly recommend it!

  46. […] Self-sooth through crying out is a myth. […]

  47. Dave says:

    Self soothing is what adults have to do because there parents didn’t sooth them as babies.

  48. Rachel says:

    Yes, yes!

    The feminists of the world won’t like me for this, But Children truly lose something when they lose having their mother at their side. Nothing is more important for young children than their mother’s direct and total presence.

    I am grateful my husband agrees and allows and encourages me to stay with my little ones as long and often as I or they need/desire.

    We are all better off for it.

  49. banshee says:

    You’ve hit the nail on the head with this one. Thank you for the courage to speak out.

    It is frightening the amount of conditioning and trauma that goes into convincing parents to ignore the distress of their offspring (something never observed in the animal kingdom) only to have them grow up into jaded and conditioned adults who continue to perpetuate this circle of abuse and trauma. Brilliant.

    Throughout the day, what doctors and CIO proponents advise us to do at night is known as ‘abuse’ and ‘neglect’ but at night it suddenly becomes a necessity through the power of moral relativism. The same things (not comforting baby, not answering to baby’s cries, only handling baby for diaper change and food) are the very reason children who grew up in orphanages develop reactive attachment disorder or other more severe emotional and cognitive issues. Psychology even has a term for babies who weren’t held or comforted in infancy – ‘crib baby’. But when parents are encouraged to do it, then it’s suddenly okay.

  50. Pamela says:

    Thank you so much for this article! I keep going through periods of feeling guilty because my 16 month old hasn’t learned to “self soothe” like other kids we know and thinking that it’s because I’m still nursing her, rocking her, singing to her etc…

    I’ve been torn because everything I’m doing feels right for me and my baby yet there’s just so much out there that says I’m doing it wrong!

    So glad I found your website to help me reinforce in myself that I need to ignore everything else and just do what I want because this time with her is too precious and some day I know I’m going to miss all the snuggles, cuddles, and special moments that were just ours.

  51. Corinna says:

    Amazing and I totally agree. Just wondering to what age this refers to approximately? Baby to 3 years/younger/older? Thanks!

  52. Christina says:

    Yes! I completely agree! We justify doing all kinds of things we shouldn’t so that our lives as parents are easier. We even wrap the lie up in a decorative little package with a shiny red bow and celebrate it!

    How different would our world look if there was more self sacrifice instead of finding all the easy outs (self-soothing, spanking, etc.)?

    I got my degree in psychology and I whole heartedly approve this article.

  53. […] is just some made up word designed to make sleep trainers feel like they are accomplishing something. Like they are helping […]

  54. Leigh Yarberry says:

    I would just like to point out that the idea of “self soothing” is not a new one. In fact it goes back to Victorian England. Basically “let the child cry it out” is a very old idea that existed even when people had night nurses, wet nurses and full staff.

  55. Jade says:

    Beautiful brave article! Thank you for sharing. I got literally 10 hours sleep pretty much every single night with both babies since day 3 AND responded to their needs. I know don’t believe me??! Believe me! Its called co-sleeping and following Ayurvedic mother/baby care ❤️ Both babies went to sleep with me after naturally wanting to cluster feed at sunset for hours, then bed at 7-8pm with me in my bed, first dream feed about 1am early days then eventually stretched out to sunrise, then kept sleeping. I just rolled over fed, then rolled back, then both go straight to sleep. No crying, both slept incredibly! I was completely shocked at how good i had it! I thought I would share my very positive experience of meeting all needs of baby and learning to forget and forgive others comments of mothering SO different. It worked SOooooooooooo well for us….. Ayurveda meets all needs so well AND the needs of mothers!!!

  56. Rebecca says:

    Thank you so much for being A voice for the children who are learning to give up before they even get started. It really breaks my heart. Your strength and conviction brings me hope.

  57. Jessica says:

    Thanks for writing this article. I’ve been wondering about whether I should be doing something about my ‘bad sleeper’. I’ve been feeling like a bit of a failure but this article has reasurred me that following my instincts is the right thing to do. I really like to take an evidence-based approach to life so I was wondering whether you could provide more of the references you used when writing this article so I can read up?

    • Tracy Gillett says:

      Absolutely Jessica and that’s why I wrote the Good Science Sleep Guides. They are on topics ranging from sleep training to SIDS to night waking and night nursing. You can check them out here

  58. Casey freeman says:

    Love this sooo much!

  59. Julia says:

    Thank you so much for this brilliant text. I wish I could find more cultural research that can deconstruct this oppressive discourse about self-soothing… Your work is invaluable, it helped me a lot.

  60. Lynn says:

    This was such a powerful read. With tears in my eyes, rolling down my cheeks, thank you!

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