Ferber Method of Sleep Training

From WikiParenting

The Ferber Method was invented by Dr. Richard Ferber. Sometimes called "Ferberization" or Cry-It-Out (CIO), Ferber's sleep training method is just one of several new-fangled ideas (meaning, new in the past 100 years) about how to train your baby to sleep. Sleep deprived parents all over the industrialized world find Ferber's promises of a baby who goes to sleep easily, quickly, and for long stretches of time, to be quite alluring. Some parents are pleased with Ferber's ideas, while other parents find the actual implementation of Ferber's methods to be not as quick or long-lasting as expected, and yet others find his ideas to be downright neglectful or cruel.

The basis of Ferber's approach is "progressive waiting" wherein the baby is put to bed while still awake, parent leaves the room for a minute or two and then checks on baby BUT does not pick baby up. Parent leaves room again, stays away for a few minutes longer, comes back in to check on baby, no picking up. Rinse, lather, repeat until baby falls asleep. This may involve little crying or hours and hours of crying - babies don't come with labels so if you dare, find out what kind of baby you have.

It's important to note that in 2006 revision of his 20 year old book, Ferber makes sure to state: "Simply leaving a child in a crib to cry for long periods alone until he falls sleep, no matter how long it takes, is not an approach I approve of. On the contrary, many of the approaches I recommend are designed specifically to avoid unnecessary crying."

[edit] The Ferber Method in Practice

Dr. Ferber has worked extensively in the area of childhood sleep. Although his name has become synonymous with a “certain” technique, he has actually discussed and written about several different methods of teaching or helping an infant to sleep. The Ferber Method however, is a downsized techinque incorporating many of Dr. Ferber’s ideas into what is a specific method.

The first point in following the instruction of Ferber is to prepare for sleep. Sturcture is what is emphasized in this step. Daily activities become regular as well as night time rituals. This structure helps to prepare the child and make him or her receptive to sleep at the same times daily. Babies come to anticipate this sleep through their daily ritual cues. When “bedtime” or “naptime” occurs, then the child is put to bed in their room, and the parent leaves the room.

The next step is to return to the room to comfort the baby as needed at increasing time intervals. It is important to comfort as needed, but to not pick the child up. A parent may return after 3 minutes to comfort baby, then after 5 and then 10 until the baby falls asleep without having to be picked up. This is to supposedly teach the child to fall asleep on his or her own, though biologically, our babies find this rather confusing (we humans are a "carry" species like other primates, and separation during sleep is odd and not particularly advantageous from an evolutionary perspective).

Eventually these intervals of returning to comfort baby are increased (For instance, first check can be 5 minutes instead of 3, second can be 10 instead of 5) until the child is used to this routine and will sleep on his or her own. This could take minutes, hours, days, weeks, or months! And even if it "works" for you in the short term, your child might go through a very normal phase where sleep cycles change, yet the Ferber parent would need to then "re-Ferberize" their child.

The Ferber method is meant for children aged 6 months or older, when our culture has decided that most babies are capable of sleeping through the night (yet many parents will tell you that their babies feel otherwise!). Some babies are able to sleep through the night at 3 months old, but under the age of 6 months (and sometimes later than that), most children will need to be fed during the night hours. The Ferber Method is NOT to be applied during the first 4 months because truthfully, a newborn or young infant's wants and needs are *one in the same* and should not be ignored or second-guessed, just simply attended to! If your newborn or infant is unable to sleep on his/her own, that is very typical in the early months. If not able to sleep for more than 20-60 minutes at a time, please consider an underlying medical issue (typically allergy to cow's milk or soy and accompanied by fussiness/gassiness, or reflux, etc.).

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that infants sleep in the same room as the parents (crib, sidecar arrangement, or other safe sleeping surface) to reduce the risk of SIDS and to facilitate breastfeeding. Ferber states that babies and children who share sleep with their parents (either in same room or same bed) "are not prevented from learning to separate, or from developing their own sense of individuality, simply because they sleep with their parents. Whatever you want to do, whatever you feel comfortable doing, is the right thing to do, as long as it works."

While some parents have misconstrued Ferber's method as being applicable to newborns and infants (those under 6 months), the truth is that no medical expert would recommend sleep training in the form of "crying it out" with a newborn or young infant. A nice, gentle bedtime routine from birth might be a first step in promiting good sleep habits, but Ferberizing under the age of 6 months is not a wise parenting choice, per Ferber himself.

[edit] Ferber Method Related Trivia

• Dr. Richard Ferber's book, "Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems", was written in 1985, revised in 2006. If you are interested in Ferberiing your baby/babies, please read the UPDATED, 2006 revision.

• Robert De Niro’s character in the movie “Meet The Fockers” tries to utilize the Ferber Method in teaching his grandson.

• In the US Television show “Mad About You” characters Paul and Jamie Buckman attempt Ferberization with their daughter, Mabel. The show focused on their debate on the moral and psychological ramifications of using this method.